Making It Right
by 123me
Summary: What if Gotta go my own way never happened? Would things have ended so perfectly then?
1. Confusion

**Ok, so if you read Impossible Perfection you'll know I was planning on starting another story, well I started sooner than I planned, mainly because I didn't want to forget the idea, i also decided not to end one of my other stories, i'm seriously considering the three week plan, that way i can throw oneshots it every once in a while.**

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**The quotes used at the start have been altered a bit to fit with the story.**

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**I'm going to try and avoid Points of View in this, I've never done that before, Impossible Perfection and it's prequels switch POV's all the time, and Getting through is all in one POV, infact the only time I have done no POV before is in a oneshot.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, or the computer I am writing this on, I do own my portable DVD player and the DVD's I keep playing on it.**

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It was clear from a distance that Gabriella Montez was mad, and anyone that knew her knew her reasons

"Sharpay!" she demanded, continuing to walk as the blonde drama queen followed behind her, clearly amused by her mutual rival's attitude, Gabriella stopped after a few paces, "forget about the rest of us, how about the fact that your brother has worked extremely hard on this show?"

"Oh boo-who, he'll be in the show, he'll do his celebrity impersonations." Sharpay smirked, "and don't lecture me about Ryan, giving the way you've been interfering with Troy's future."

"What?" the other girl gasped in shock, she had no idea what the blonde was talking about.

"You've gotten him written up by Fulton for sneaking on the golf course and swimming after hours. I had to step in just to save Troy's job,"

Gabriella sighed in realisation, but it didn't take long for her to figure that she really didn't care about the other girl's delusions, "I'm not interested in what you think you're doing for Troy, that's between you and him. But you're messing with my friends, my summer and that's not ok with me."

"You don't like the fact that I won," Sharpay all but hissed

"What's the prize?" Gabriella asked, "Troy? The Stardazzle award? You have to go through all this just to get either one? No, thanks Sharpay. You're very good at a game that I don't want to play, you know the only reason I'm still here right now is because leaving would be giving you what you want, from now on, you're non-existent when it comes to me, but you better step away from the mirror long enough to check the damage that will always be right behind you."

For a while Sharpay didn't answer, just stood on the spot trying to stare her rival down, but Gabriella wasn't ready to back off, and Sharpay could see that, and she wasn't sure what the other girl was capable of when she was this angry, "GIRLS!"

Sharpay quickly left, her friends, if you could even call them that, following close behind her, she knew that Gabriella was still watching her, and really, all she wanted to do was leave the other teen's line of vision.

Gabriella watched until the blonde was out of sight, then turned on her heel and headed back to the kitchen.

"You ok?" she heard Taylor ask as soon as she stormed in.

"I'm fine," she lied unconvincingly, "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but I'm still angry, kind of disappointed, but not at her so much anymore."

"You want to talk about it?" her friend asked, genuinely concerned.

"I just really thought I could trust him," Gabriella relented, "I thought he meant what he said, I thought he'd always be there, I guess I was too naïve to realise that nobody means what they say anymore."

"Trust isn't a bad thing, Gabi," Taylor tried telling her friend, "we all need to trust someone, we wouldn't cope if we didn't."

"I can't trust him," Gabriella argued, "not anymore, besides, I have you guys, and my mom, what else do I need?"

"Have you tried talking to him?" Taylor quizzed, already knowing the answer but wanting to bring it up.

"What's the point?" Gabriella replied, "he doesn't care, if he cared he would have noticed how his behaviour is affecting me, if he cared he wouldn't have ditched me numerous times this summer to hang out with Sharpay."

"Gabi, he's a guy, guy's can be stupid," Taylor pointed out, "don't get me wrong I hate him for what he's doing to you, but don't you at least owe him a chance to explain?"

Gabriella shook her head, glancing over at the rest of the gang, whom were over the other side of the kitchen, "he doesn't care, Tay, and if he doesn't care, then neither do I."

"Yes you do," Taylor decided, showing just how well she knew her friend, "but if you don't want to at least try and talk to him about this, then I'm not going to force you, come on, come and join this discussion we started while you were gone, it's kind of a debate as to whether or not we should give Troy a chance to explain this whole alter-ego thing to us."

Gabriella nodded as they made their way over to the other end of the kitchen, both girls knew that Taylor was only doing this to try and coax her friend into admitting how much the whole situation was affecting her, but Gabriella wasn't going to fight that, she could always keep quiet, just listen to her friends views, and make a decision based on that, she was too confused to come to any decision alone anyway.

"…he even could?" she heard Chad finish as they reached the group.

"I guess we just have to believe he can," Kelsi answered.

"I'm not into the whole believing in him thing right now," Chad explained, "he's been constantly ditching us since the start of summer, I doubt he'll change just because we try and get him to explain, why should we give him the chance, he's already decided that he prefers spending time with…"

He stopped as Troy himself walked into the room, immediately starting to watch the group carefully, clearly contemplating on whether or not to approach.

"Don't stop talking on my account," he finally spoke up, walking slowly towards them.

He tried wrapping his arm around Gabriella's waist, but she immediately pulled away, taking a step further away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Why don't you ask Sharpay?" she snapped, feeling anger suddenly coursing through her again.

"Why would Sharpay know what's wrong?" He quizzed, "did she do something to you? Did she hurt you? Say anything?"

"This isn't really about Sharpay," she replied truthfully, trying to withhold coldness in her voice.

"Then what's it about?" he stupidly questioned.

"Oh forget it," She demanded, "my mom should be here by now anyway."

She left, not really willing to talk to him right now, she knew if she did that she'd probably do something that she'd regret later on, she needed to calm down, then, if she felt like it, she'd let him talk.

"What's wrong with her?" Troy directed at Taylor, "you'd tell me if anything was wrong, right?"

"You figure it out," Taylor demanded, "I'm not hear to tell you things she clearly doesn't want me to tell you, but you should know one thing, you've just about screwed up the best thing you had."

"Ignore him, Tay," Chad decided, pulling her back, "he's not worth your time."

She turned and smiled at Chad, nodding, knowing that they were probably being a bit cruel, but accepting that it was probably necessary.

Troy knew that Chad was mad at him, and he knew most of the others were, but since when had Gabriella adapted her mood?

Martha obviously noticed his thinking as she commented, "right now, you don't deserve her, so give her a few days, if you're lucky, she might still be talking to you then."

He watched as the group left the room, leaving him completely alone, he still didn't get why most of them were angry, he was doing his job, what was wrong with that?

Deep down he knew that his job wasn't what was bugging Gabriella, but it was easier for him to accept that this was the reason, for now, anyway.

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**I know it's a short introduction, but leaving it there makes sense and i want to see what everyone thinks before i write longer chapters.**

**REVIEW!!!!**


	2. Discussion

**This is the longest New Year chapter out of all of them so far, oneshot may be longer but I'm not sure if that counts, seeing as it's technically not up on New Years Eve or day like the other three.**

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**Yes Kerry, I am adding a chapter to this story last, I'm teaching you a lesson here, read my other stories.**

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All she wanted was time to herself, perfect silence, she knew her mother would never give her that, Anna Montez wasn't an idiot, she could tell when something was wrong, and she was often overbearing. 

"I don't want to talk about it," Gabriella told her as soon as she opened her mouth to ask.

She rephrased her question, unsurprised by the teen's avoidance, "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," Gabriella answered, moving her gaze to the outside world visible outside her bedroom window.

"If you won't talk about what's bothering you I'll just go ahead and tell you how interesting I found today," Anna continued.

Gabriella glanced over at her, sensing that she wasn't going to like what her mother was going to tell her, "What?"

"I got a call today while I was at the office," Anna started.

"You get calls every day, mom," Gabriella pointed out, averting her gaze to the window again before a momentary panic hit her, "We're not moving again are we?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Anna assured.

"Then what is it?" Gabriella quizzed, contemplating whether or not she really cared at this moment in time.

"The call, it…" Anna began; watching as her daughter faced her again, giving her a questioning look, " Well…"

"Mom, spit it out, the day'll be over before you tell me at this rate," Gabriella demanded.

"It was your father," Anna rushed, still studying the teen's face.

"Finally figured out how to use a phone did he?" The girl answered, "What does he want? A medal?"

"He asked me if I'd allow him to see you, I said it's up to you, I mean it Gabi it's completely up to you," Anna explained.

"Tell him I'll think about it if he goes bungee jumping without a bungee cord," Gabriella replied sarcastically.

"That's a no then," Her mother pointed out.

"Why the hell would he think I'd want to see him, mom?" Gabriella suddenly asked, "Why now? Why when we're happy? He's never wanted to know before."

"He's a strange man," Anna simply answered.

"And there was me thinking that strangeness was a general trait of the whole male gender," Gabriella shot back, suddenly annoyed.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Whatever it is," Anna quizzed.

"I already said I'm fine mom," Gabriella insisted, once again turning back to the window, "I'm fine, everything's great."

"Ok," Anna hesitantly relented, not knowing whether news of her daughter's father had altered her behaviour in any way, she'd seemed quiet, distant and angry on the car ride home, so something had definitely happened before she'd been picked up, and Anna was certain that this something was closely related to her daughter's boyfriend.

Gabriella sighed as her mother left the room, ignoring her cell which was flashing silently on her bed once again, could life have been any worse at that moment.

She stood up and walked over to her bed, watching the screen of her cell as it continuously flashed, Kelsi, someone she can deal with at least.

"Hey," She answered.

"Are you ok?" Came her friends voice, "You left in such a hurry, everyone is so worried about you!"

"Not everyone," Gabriella sighed, then adapted a happier tone, "Anyway, I'm fine, I promise, I just didn't want to be late for my mom, you know how she can be…"

"Yes I do," Kelsi pointed out, "She wouldn't have had a problem with you being a little bit late, and yes, EVERYONE is worried about you, except maybe Fulton, and Sharpay, and people that don't know you, and…"

"Kels, I get it," Gabriella giggled, "Everyone that knows me and likes me is worried, I don't need a list."

"You get that everyone includes him, right?" Kelsi questioned.

"Includes who?" Gabriella teased, attempting to cheer herself up in preparation for her mother's pending inquiries into her mood.

"You know who!" Kelsi pointed out.

"Who's who?" Gabriella asked, "I don't know anyone called who."

"Stop being an idiot," Kelsi laughed, "I'm trying to be serious."

"I can't be serious right now," Gabriella admitted, "I need to just forget everything, forget today, forget dad, forget Lava springs, most importantly forget him, just for tonight, I'll deal with it all tomorrow."

"Your dad?" Kelsi quizzed.

Gabriella mentally scolded herself for mentioning him, there were going to be questions tomorrow, questions she wasn't looking forward to, she'd never mentioned her father to any of her friends before, she hadn't believed it was important, she never saw him, they weren't even in contact, he was irrelevant to her life, but now he'd been in touch, and she'd accidentally told Kelsi that, unless she could cover it up.

"Um, I didn't say dad Kels," She tried, thinking of what she could have possibly said instead, "I said…um… Chad."

"Why would you want to forget Chad?" Her friend asked, making in clear that she didn't believe a word.

"Promise not to tell the others," Gabriella relented, "My dad called my mom, he wants to see me, after nine years he wants to know me, you can't tell the others, please."

"Why would I tell them?" Kelsi asked, "Unless they should know. Should they know?"

"No, they shouldn't know," Gabriella insisted, glad that Kelsi was one of the most loyal people in her life, "Was that it, you wanted to know that I was ok?"

"Pretty much," Kelsi replied.

"Good, because I really have to go, mom's calling," Gabriella lied, just wanting to stop the call, "Bye"

"Bye," Kelsi spoke unsurely as they both hung up.

Gabriella's cell started flashing again almost as soon as she'd hung up, she looked at the screen again, shook her head and threw it back down on the bed, she couldn't talk to him right now, she was glad that she'd put it on silent, it made it easier to ignore.

She turned to face the doors out onto her balcony, gazing into the night sky, normally she'd be outside, but she didn't want to be out there at this moment, it wasn't cold, she just felt more vulnerable outside, her room was her sanctuary, the one place where people didn't go without her permission.

She turned as she heard the sound of the phone ringing downstairs, it dissipated after about half a minute as her mother answered it, she turned back to the doors, jumping as she did.

Slowly she walked towards them, reaching out one hand to open one.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as soon as it was open.

"You were mad," He stated, "And you walked away without explanation."

"I still am mad," She told him, "and I left for a reason."

"Look, I knew you were mad before you told me you were mad," He started, "What I don't know is why."

She sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the still darkening sky, wondering what else she could have done to avoid having this conversation at this particular moment.

"Are you going to let me in so we can talk about this properly?" He suddenly asked.

She shook her head, unwilling to let this conversation continue for much longer.

"Ok, so we'll talk about it here, whatever suits you," He decided.

"No," She refused, "I can't talk about it now, I can't talk about it now because it hurts, maybe tomorrow or whatever but not now, you should just, go."

"Really?" He quizzed, unsure as to whether he should leave her, "You really want me to leave."

"It's what's best," She insisted, "I just need to think, we'll talk tomorrow, if you're not too busy that is,"

She'd pretty much snapped the last part, how could he not know why she was mad? It was obvious to everyone else, why wasn't it to him?

"Why would I…" He started, she watched as it dawned on him, "Oh… I'm so so sorry…"

"Tomorrow," She interrupted, pushing him firmly back from the door, "I need to think now."

"Thank about what?" He quickly asked, suddenly curious as to what she meant.

"Tomorrow, Troy," She repeated, closing the door, trying hard not to get annoyed by his persistence.

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**REVIEW!!!!**


	3. Finally

**I found the first paragraph of this chapter funny, you'll know why when you read it, sorry if it insults anyone, I just think the chapter is better with it, and it's a general statement, not directed at anyone.**

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People can be stupid; it's a typical human trait, most of the time there's little that can be done about humankind's stupidity, usually nothing that can predict or even prevent it, but sometimes, on rare occasions, it can be prevented, but, being the stupid creations that we are, most of us do not grasp these opportunities of prevention, infact, if we didn't have the ability to use our minds in other ways to make up for stupidity, we'd probably all be dead now.

Troy Bolton knew he'd been stupid, he also knew that it was very unlikely that he'd be able to talk his way out of this one, his basketball and golf skills would also be useless, in short, he'd got himself into a predicament, and he had no one to blame but himself, not that he wouldn't try and blame someone else, after all, that's another natural human instinct, shifting the blame, we do whatever it takes to get ourselves out of trouble, regardless of who else is affected by our denial, what the consequences will be when the truth is finally revealed.

Gabriella Montez didn't know if she was ready to talk, but she'd promised, and she wouldn't break a promise, her father had done enough of that in the past, and she refused to be anything like him. She often wondered if she was more like him than she believed, she knew she'd never truly find the answer unless she gave him a chance, but he didn't deserve another one, she'd given him too many already. She wasn't denying that talking to anyone that day was going to be easy, her friends would want answers as to why she had been ignoring their calls, more importantly, some of the words she spoke today could decide the future of her relationship, and that, is what was truly worrying her.

"So…" Troy started after a long, awkward silence that he'd tired of long before it ended.

"So…" Gabriella repeated, also prolonging the word.

He continued staring at her for a while, continuing only when he realised that he couldn't sit staring at her all day, after all they only had five minutes before they had to start work, "I guess we should talk,"

"I guess," she agreed, not really knowing where to begin.

"So…" he spoke again.

"Don't start that again," she complained.

He nodded, not really knowing where to begin.

He opened his mouth, figuring he should just start speaking now, but she cut him off with a single word, "why?"

"The scholarship," he replied truthfully, knowing that lying to her wouldn't get him anywhere, she'd be able to tell, she knew him too well, he saw her give a small nod as he continued, "I thought it was worth more than it actually is, I swear, if I'd have known you felt this way, if I'd know you were upset…"

"It doesn't matter," She interrupted, "I don't need to know what you would have done, it's not like you can go back in time and do things differently, I need to know if you understand why I felt the way I did, the way I still do."

"I was a jerk, I get it," He tried, only just managing to stop himself from reaching out to her, "But now, I'm a really sorry jerk, that just wants you to forgive him."

"I don't know," She admitted, "You were basically ignoring me, ignoring your friends, it hurt, Troy, it just hurt, I don't know if I can let you do that again."

"Please?" He questioned, "I'll do whatever it takes to make this right, whatever it takes, you just need to give me a chance."

"A chance to what?" She half-snapped, "A chance to ditch me at every opportunity? A chance to make promises that you'll break? Because that's what you've been doing since we started these jobs,"

"I know it seems bad…" He tried.

"BAD!" She exclaimed, cutting him off, "you started off by being an hour late for dates, that I could deal with, but that soon turned into you not turning up at all, missing things that you promised you'd do, not just for me, but for your friends too, you've been too busy living the life of luxury that Sharpay's been feeding you to even acknowledge that we exist, it's not fair, Troy, you can't expect me to just forgive you like that, I can't, it's too hard, I trusted you, I felt like you'd thrown it back in my face, I don't know how to get past that."

"I'll work on it," He promised, "We can get through this."

"Can we?" She answered, "Can you honestly say that if I'm prepared to forgive and forget this now it won't happen again?"

"I won't let it happen again," He was getting desperate now, still trying hard to prevent himself from reaching out for her, he knew she wouldn't accept that right now.

He couldn't stop thinking about how just the day before he'd thought everything was fine between them, he hated himself for how he'd made her feel, but she wasn't going to make this easy for him, he didn't deserve it anyway, but he'd make it up to her, it was a promise he made, not just to her, but to himself.

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**I know it's short, but I have to do homework, my stories take priority over homework, I'm like that, I prioritise with things I actually want to do over things I have to do.**

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**REVIEW!!! Like Impossible Perfection six if you want another chapter within the week, the more reviews the higher it goes on my list of priorities, hopefully you can get it higher than impossible perfection.**


	4. Fresh Air and Friends

**Ok then, you guys made this story my priority, eight reviews for the last chapter, Getting through got six, Impossible Perfection got four, reviews really do help me prioritise, which is good considering the amount of math homework I have.**

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**I have a new poll up too, check my profile page, it is really important that you vote, when you see the explanation in the poll you'll know why.**

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Life is hard, there's no denying it, it's not a big deal or anything, if it was easy it'd be pretty dull, mistakes, accidents, fights, whether we like it or not they are all a part of life, we can't change that, and most of us are smart enough to know not to try, besides, most of the things we get wrong we can fix.

Gabriella's life seemed to be harder than most, especially at this moment in time, sometimes she thought that maybe it would be better for everyone, overall, if she just stopped speaking full stop, talking never got her anywhere anyway, so why bother? The world would be a quieter place anyway if others followed suit, sure it might make phone calls a little difficult, but there's always IM and Text, even plain old letter writing, think of all the shouting that wouldn't happen, you'd have an almost blissful silence if people thought before they spoke, let alone stopped talking altogether.

"Why are you so quiet?" Taylor shocked her friend out of her thoughts of silence.

Gabriella glanced at her, not really knowing how to answer, she'd pretty much just written an essay on silence in her head, who does that? (A/N: Except me, clearly).

"Scratch that, I have a better question," Taylor continued, " did you forget how to answer the phone? Because I'd hate to think that you were purposely ignoring my calls."

"Yesterday night was somewhat, eventful," Gabriella tried, hoping her friend would drop it.

"Elaborate," Taylor demanded out of concern and simple curiosity.

"Some family stuff, then awkward visits from a certain person who now officially knows why I'm mad at him," Gabriella told, not really wanting to go into detail.

"So you told him?" Taylor quizzed, watching her friend expectantly.

Gabriella nodded, wishing that she had recited her silence essay to Taylor, maybe then the other girl would have decided not to ask her questions, Gabriella loathed personal questions, the very thought of answering them was daunting, sometimes she thought that just maybe she should take up this silence thing, it's sure to stop people asking her about her private life. Maybe once she'd get some peace and quiet, that's be a great change, but she knew that these thoughts were stupid, her life would always be far from quiet.

"I have to go," she decided, standing up, "You know, back to the pool."

"You still have five minutes left of your lunch break," Taylor pointed out.

"Fulton already hates me, cutting my lunch break short can't do any harm can it?" Gabriella called back as she continued walking at a quick pace.

She wasn't going back to work, she had no idea where she was going, she was just feeling suddenly claustrophobic stuck inside.

The outside air was soothing, like a kind of freedom she'd been waiting to feel for her whole life, the club was busy, but the presence of the other people wasn't bothering her like she thought it would, she didn't want to be completely alone, secluded from civilization, she just wanted to be outside, feeling the breeze, it was refreshing, momentarily helping her forget her troubles.

She spotted Ryan hanging around by the pool, no sign of Sharpay as of yet, she took this to be a good sign as she approached her friend.

"Hey," She greeted, smiling.

"Hi," he answered, "You seem cheerier than you were yesterday."

"I am, I figured I shouldn't be miserable all my life," She tried.

"Haven't seen Sharpay so far today have you," He knowingly stated.

"No," She admitted, giggling, "I've also managed to dodge most people's questions, and I actually talked to Troy this morning, I guess I've felt a little better ever since "

"Actually caught up with him did you?" Ryan continued the conversation.

"He came to me actually, he figured out I was mad, he got worried," Gabriella explained.

"So he is still human after all," Ryan joked, and then seriously added, "I think he's been avoiding Sharpay today, she keeps asking me where he is, she can't seem to accept that I don't know."

"I can make a pretty good guess," She smiled.

"I'm guessing you're not planning in telling Shar," He grinned.

"Nope," She agreed, "If she's so desperate for him she can find him herself, which is going to be pretty hard for her, seeing as he asked Fulton for the afternoon off."

"Why?" Ryan quizzed,

"No idea," Gabriella answered, "He wouldn't say, he actually said that it's top secret information that he couldn't risk me getting hold of."

"And you're not curious?" He continued shooting questions.

"I am," She admitted, "but truthfully, I never stopped trusting him, so if he wants me to know what he's doing this afternoon, he'll tell me."

"So you really don't want to know?" Ryan questioned again.

"Yes, but I trust him," Gabriella pretty much repeated, "But you can't tell him that, I told him he needs to earn back my trust."

"Your secrets safe," Ryan smiled, "Playing with Bolton's mind, sly move."

"I can pull it off," Gabriella replied, "I should probably go and clock in now, Seeya."

She quickly ran back inside, hoping that she would still be able to avoid Taylor, at least she actually did have a reason for a quick escape this time, she actually did have to get to work.

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**I know, I know, short again, don't kill me, I'm hungry, and tired, and I have school tomorrow, and hey, this chapter is a few words longer than the lasy one, lol**

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**Oh, just so you know, No Ryella as more than friends in this story, no offence to those who like the pairing, but for me, it's just too weird, probably because I'm so used to Troyella.**

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**Remember the poll!!**

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**REVIEW!!! Six for the next chapter.**


	5. Looking up

**wow, i've been depriving you, i haven't updated in five days, (starts pouting) i'm sorry!!!! LOL!!!!!**

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**Ok, lots of ramble today, because I can, end of, actually, I'm not sure if it can be classes as ramble or not, because it's just some random things that have happened.**

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**1.Forget the poll I've been telling you about, it's wrong, mock week isn't next week for a start, it's the week after, and I've checked the timetable, I only have to go into school for the exams, so overall I should have more time, not less, and I have no exams at all on the Friday, so it's sort of a three day weekend, because I don't have to go in.**

**2.At lunch chav(Kerry) and I were going through a careers book that the careers adviser (not connexions, careers) gave to us, probably to shut us up, anyway, I was flicking through it and we came across an awesome job it was**

**Wait for it**

**A CIRCUS PERFORMER**

**So now everyone is in the circus, I'm a Lion Tamer (Yay go me), Emily has decided she is an alpaca (no idea why), Kerry and Alex are clowns, Laura is a tightrope walker. Leave it to me to come up with this. I think I may have had too much sugar today.**

**3. English was a bit random, forget the circus thing, we were all talking and ignoring the teacher, like we always do, anyways she got all stressed, and Sean decided to be random.**

**Teacher: When did I say you could start talking over me?**

**Sean: Erm…. Last lesson?**

**She got in such a stress, so funny.**

**4. I decided really early this morning that I'm going to write my friend into impossible perfection… As a doll. We were on a game called puzzle pirates, and she's the captain of our crew, and I call her Chav in real life, so I started calling her Captain Chav, so now, Tamsin is going to have a doll called Captain Chav, there, it's a little impossible perfection sneak peek, specifically for you wonderful making it right readers, please don't ask me why I'm putting little sneak peeks up for my other story in here, or, I'll have no choice but to put snippets of the future of Getting through up to annoy you even further, Yeh I know, I'm so cruel.**

**5. Random fact: Rainbow drops are low in fat, suitable for vegetarians and gluten free.**

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**Disclaimer: I do now own High School Musical, or rainbow drops, or any other brand I may mention in my ramble or in the story.**

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**Ok, now we have the two pages of pointless ramble out the way we can move on to the story.**

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"Work is exhausting," Chad decided as he joined the rest of his friends in the kitchen.

"It's good we're getting used to it now then, isn't it," Taylor pointed out.

"True," he agreed, "but the money has to be the biggest perk,"

He looked around the group, noticing for the first time that Gabriella was distracted "Gab, you still with us?"

She didn't answer, just giggled at whatever she was doing on her cell.

"Gab?" He repeated, "You still on the planet?"

"Yeah," She finally sighed in response, "Did you want something?"

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Just, stuff," she answered, "If that was it, I gotta go, my mom should be here now, and I have somewhere to be,"

She ran off before any of the others had a chance to comment, only hearing Chad's evaluation of "She's being weird," as she went.

"Hey," she greeted her mom as she jumped into the car.

"Your father called again," came Anna's answer, "I told him you'd decided not to let him be a part of your life,"

"I need to know this because…" Gabriella questioned.

"He didn't believe me," Anna explained, "he claimed that I didn't tell you that he'd been in touch, and by not telling you I was being unfair to you as well as him, he's coming down from California, he's insisting that he won't leave unless he see's you."

"Then I'll see him," Gabriella decided, "I'll see him once just to tell him to get lost, to stay out of my life, that I don't need him, and then maybe the stuff about the bungee jump we mentioned yesterday."

"Gabi, do you really think suggesting that you want him to commit suicide will make him stay way?" Anna questioned.

"Just drive, mom," Gabriella evaded, "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Somewhere with a certain boy who's name begins with T?" Anna asked, trying to cure the tense atmosphere.

"Maybe," Gabriella smiled, "but then again, maybe not."

Anna laughed at the teenager's newfound happiness before speaking, "So everything's good between you two now?"

"How did you know?" her daughter asked, clearly shocked, "I didn't tell you,"

"I'm your mom, I make it my business to know everything," Anna replied, still smiling.

"You asked Taylor, didn't you?" Gabriella smiled, showing that she too was all knowing when it came to her mother.

"You were upset," Anna defended, "can you blame me for wanting to know why my kid was upset, I didn't want you going all emo on me now, did I?"

"You did not just say emo," Gabriella gasped, mocking horror, "don't try and be cool mom, it doesn't suit you."

"I am cool sweetie, and you know it," Anna commented.

"Oh my God, you did not just say that, "Gabriella exclaimed in disbelief, "you know what, it's a good thing none of my friends are here right now, because you are such an embarrassment,"

"Awwww, I love you too," Anna continued teasing, cherishing the moment as much as she did other moments just like it.

"You know what, I'm not talking to you," Gabriella decided, "I'm going to look out the window now, and I'm not going to talk to you until we get home."

"Of course," Anna agreed, knowing that her daughter wouldn't be able to stop talking for that long.

Gabriella gazed out the window, watching the scenery whiz past the moving car, losing herself in what was the tranquil outdoors.

"Mom?" she suddenly asked, Anna nodded to let her know she was listening, "do you really think he meant it, when he said he was coming?"

"Yes," Anna admitted, knowing immediately what the teen was talking about, "he doesn't make idle threats, idle promises maybe but never idle threats, he's coming, but we can deal with that when he gets here."

Gabriella nodded and went back to looking out of the window, thinking ahead to the plans she had made for that night, if her mom could keep her father away once he arrived, maybe things were starting to look up after all.

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**I know it's short, but that's life, and I need to do more maths work, if anyone wants to tell my school that they are giving me too much homework, feel free, I'm not going to disagree with you, because, when I have done a bit more of that maths, I have to write a performance evaluation for Bugsy Malone (Impossible perfection readers will know about Bugsy Malone) , I'll try and update again soon, and since the reaction to this story has been better than I expected, in the next chapter I will hide the titles of five Vanessa Hudgens songs, first person to review with the five names will get a preview of the next chapter, remember that this is the next chapter though, not this chapter, I got this brilliant song idea from another story, it is not mine, so I am hereby disclaiming it, seeing as I don't own it.**

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**REVIEW!!!!**


	6. Surprises

**I have a treat and a half today, I'm going to introduce you to the weird and wonderful world of Kerry (Captain Chav) by showing you her review for the last chapter:**

**"I'll tell miss foster there giving u to much homework, I really wanna tell  
them wats gonna happen to the captain chav doll, but they will have to wait, I  
nosticks tongue out cuz its me, lol seaweed is cool, seaweed is fun, it  
makes its food, frm the rays in the sun!"**

**I'm sure that we would all like to thank her for that lesson on seaweed. You probably also want to thank her for demanding that I update this story today, she told me I had to at school, so I'm guessing I don't have a choice.**

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**Don't forget to look out for the song names in the chapter, be the first to give me the five names of the Vanessa Hudgens songs hidden in the chapter and you get a preview for the next chapter.**

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**Haha, I'm listening to stick to the status quo, I'm going through my whole mp3 without skipping songs, I've even listened to some songs that I forgot I had.**

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**I'm going to let you read now.**

**In**

**5**

**4**

**3**

**2**

**1**

**GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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"You drive like a maniac," Gabriella decided as she shut the car door.

"Maniac mother, that's me," Anna answered, smiling as she unlocked the front door.

"Mom, please, stop," Gabriella begged, "your not cool,"

"You say that now but what will you be saying tomorrow?" Anna continued.

"That doesn't make any sense," Gabriella pointed out.

"Go and get ready for your, 'plans', as you so evasively put it," Anna insisted.

Gabriella smiled, nodded and ran upstairs to her room, her sunny outlook continuing.

She gasped as she opened her door, glancing around the room, this was not normal, it was extraordinary, she smiled, walking over to the mirror that was now framed in thornless red roses. She picked up one of the nearer roses, gazing around the room at the rest; it was like she was in a rose garden, not just red roses, but pink and yellow, also added décor to the room.

"You like it then?" she heard her mom ask from behind her.

"I love it," She sighed, moving to sit on the bed, "but, how?"

"Why else would you think that boyfriend of yours would want the afternoon off?" Anna questioned, still smiling at her daughter's face, "he planned it, that's why he was late this morning, he asked me if he could, he's psychic, he knew you'd love it"

"But this is too much," the teen tried, "how did he do this? Why didn't you say?"

"It's not hard to buy roses, sweetie, and it's not hard to do this, I would have wrecked the surprise if I'd told you," Anna answered, "You get ready, he'll be here soon,"

Gabriella nodded as her mother left the doorway and headed back downstairs; she smiled as she once again, noticing a card as she did. She picked it up, giggling at the fluffy heart on the front of it. Opening it, she read the message.

_Gabi,_

_Tonight, forget your dad (your mom told me,), forget work, forget the past, but most importantly, forget Sharpay Evans, you know that I'd rather be with you, I'd choose you over her any day, your smile alone lights up any room._

_Love you,_

_T_

She sighed happily as she finished reading, contemplating re-reading it, but knowing that she didn't have the time. Still smiling she made her way over to her closet, intent on finding the perfect outfit for that night.

An hour later she heard the doorbell ring, but paused, deciding to make him wait, she sat down, unable to keep the smile off her face as she watched her reflection in the mirror.

"GABI, TROY'S HERE," Anna shouted up the stairs.

"I'M ALMOST DONE," she lied in reply, still grinning as she decided to finally re-read the card.

"YOU PROMISE?" Anna asked, keeping the conversation going, probably for Troy's amusement.

"NO," Gabriella giggled, knowing her mom would know that she was ready, but her boyfriend wouldn't be so smart.

It took her five minutes to finally decide to go downstairs, still smiling as she had been for the past hour.

She laughed as she watched the expression on Troy's face change when he saw her.

"You look…um…. well…wow," he stuttered.

"That wasn't a proper sentence," she teased, still smiling "it started off well, but it went upside down towards the end."

She made her way down the rest of the steps so she was standing right in front of him.

"So, where are we going?" she quizzed as she felt her mothers hand on her shoulder.

He pointed towards the door, still gazing into her eyes.

"Yes, I figured we were going outside my front door, but where outside the door?" she continued.

"Erm," he finally managed to speak, "It's a surprise,"

"Interesting," she decided, then waited a few seconds before saying, "why are we still standing here?"

"Let's get going then," he finally spoke proper words.

"Mom, let go," Gabriella ordered calmly, still feeling her mom gripping her shoulder.

As soon as the grip loosened she moved away from her mother and opened the front door as she rushed, "quick, before she tries to grab me again,"

"Very funny," Anna commented, smiling to herself as the two teens left.

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**That's it for today, because I'm lazy, and hungry, and have hidden all the song names, some of them are obvious, some, not so much, remember, there are five song names, you have to be the first to five me all five to get a preview of the next chapter, which I should be writing tomorrow, and hopefully putting up on Thursday or Friday, or course, the person that wins the competition should get it tomorrow, but I have parents evening and I have to finish my RE coursework so it depends on time.**

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**In the next chapter, I will also put lines from this chapter that the song names appear in, the song names will be bold and underlined, I will do this even if nobody gets it, although someone probably will.**

**Note to whoever (if anyone does) wins: Do not give anything from the preview away to any other reader or i will never do anything like this again.**

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**Review!!!!!**


	7. Dinner Dates

**We have a winner.**

**The song name competition was won by **_**Never Goodbye19**_

**And as promised, the answers:**

1."You **drive** like a maniac," Gabriella decided.

2. "He's **psychic**, he knew you'd love it"

3. "You know that I'd **rather be with you**,"

4. "YOU **PROMISE**?" Anna asked,

5. "Mom, **let go**," Gabriella ordered calmly,

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**Disclaimer: ****I do not own High school Musical, or Hannah Montana, or anything really.**

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"Did I make a good choice?" Troy questioned, smiling as his girlfriend nodded.

"This is amazing," Gabriella sighed happily, "how are you affording this?"

"Jobs pay," Troy smirked jokily.

"You shouldn't be spending that money on me," she exclaimed, "you're meant to be saving it for college."

"But I wanna spend it on you," he pouted before adapting a serious persona, "I owe you this, after everything,"

Gabriella sighed, "you don't owe me, its too formal, owing makes our relationship sound like business, and I get enough business speak off of my mom, you promised you'd make it up to me, but you don't owe it to me, I just need to know that I can…"

"Gabi?" Troy frowned as she cut off, not noticing that she was staring over his shoulder, "Gabi?"

"I don't believe this," she commented.

He turned to follow her gaze, silently cursing as he saw what she had.

"Ignore her," he decided as he turned back, "hopefully she won't see us,"

"Too late for that," Gabriella sighed, "She's heading this way,"

"I swear she's a stalker," he muttered, "she's everywhere,"

"TROY," The blonde exclaimed as she reached the table.

"Sharpay," he stated, "as you can probably see, I'm busy right now, so I'll see you tomorrow, when I'm actually working,"

"But we can talk now, silly," Sharpay smiled, "because we're both here,"

"Like I said, I'm busy," Troy repeated, smiling in reassurance at Gabriella, "and I'm trying to keep my personal life separate from work, so when I'm working tomorrow, we can talk about whatever goes through your head, but right now, I have other things occupying my attention."

"Great, tomorrow, it's a date," Sharpay grinned, "Seeya,"

She flounced away from the table, practically skipping.

"Poor you," Gabriella spoke first, noticing the questioning look her boyfriend gave her, "You have to see her tomorrow, at least I can avoid her."

He smiled, noticing that she was overlooking her obvious discomfort to try and lighten the mood.

"She's everywhere," he commented, "now she's even showing up out of work, in restaurants, she even came in my back yard two days ago, she started complimenting me 'basketball technique' it was weird, what does she know about basketball?"

"Your ranting," Gabriella giggled, "You could always try and avoid her,"

"I can't," he replied, "I've got too much to lose if I do,"

"Like what?" She quizzed, genuinely interested.

"The promise of a scholarship, my parents need me to get it, you know, and playing with the Redhawks is good for my game," he explained.

"So that's what's important right now?" She asked, "the scholarship and your game?"

"And you," he added, "I know I haven't shown that for a while, but it won't change, you're always going to be important to me,"

"I guess I know that but, sometimes it just, you know, doesn't feel like it, especially over the last few weeks," she admitted, he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off, "please, don't apologise again, you've apologised so many times I've lost count,"

She stifled a yawn, causing him to glance at his watch.

"It's ten fifteen," he told her, "we should get going, I promised your mom I'd have you home by eleven,"

She nodded, looking over to the other side of the restaurant where Sharpay and her apparent friends were laughing loudly about something, just nodding in acknowledgement as he got up to pay the cheque.

"Why are you watching her?" Troy asked as he returned.

"Thinking," she answered, turning to him instead, "you ready to go?"

"Yeah," he told her as she stood up, "are you ok?"

"Fine," she claimed, "just trying to figure out what to do about my dad,"

He knew she was lying, but he didn't want to risk upsetting her by bringing it up, so he just nodded in a way that he knew would tell her that he didn't believe her as he led her out of the restaurant and back to his truck.

The ride back to her house was somewhat quiet, Troy was unsure as to if this semi-awkward silence was a good thing or not, and his wondering kept him from breaking it until he pulled up outside the house.

"Thanks," he finally spoke, "for coming tonight, after everything I've done, I didn't think you would, I didn't deserve it, not after how I've acted, but I'll try and make sure it never happens again, that I never hurt you again, no matter how unintentional,"

"I have this theory," she told him, "that if we don't give people second chances, we won't give ourselves second chances, and not everyone is perfect, not everyone can get everything right first time."

"That's a good theory," he decided, "infact, I think I'll second that theory,"

"You know what else you should do?" She questioned, looking expectantly at him as she continued, "talk to Chad, Taylor and everyone, tell them what you've told me, all of it, even the jokes, they're your friends, they should understand, and everything would be a lot easier for me if you do, I won't be caught in the middle, please, just talk to them, for me,"

"Anything for you," he smiled, knowing that talking to his possible former friends wouldn't be easy, but he did owe it to her.

"Thank you," she grinned, kissing him on the cheek, "now I really should go, it's five to eleven, you know what my mom's like, if I'm through the door one second late she'd freak,"

He smiled, silently agreeing with her as she opened truck door.

He watched her as she ran up the garden path and unlocked the front door, greeting her mom on the other side, she waved before she closed the door, prompting him to start driving, he knew he had to figure out a way to strike up conversation with the rest of the gang, he had to at least make an effort for her, she needed this, and even though she said he didn't owe her anything, this was the least that he believed he owed.

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**Wow, still short, but I have to, as they say in the world of Hannah Montana, Study…udy…udy, lol, I have a science exam tomorrow, and although when I was doing these mini quizzes earlier and was getting full marks, I still need to revise, because they were easy questions, so easy it's unbelievable, and the last thing I want to do is bring the B I got in the last exam down. Yeah, we have three science exams (three topics in each, nine topics altogether) and at the end of the year they put the grades together, and work out what you got then, I currently like my B, so I would rather keep it, so now I'm going to enter the world of Diseases, Materials and Radiation (the three topics in this exam).**

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**I'm going to update Impossible Perfection or Getting through tomorrow, I haven't decided yet.**

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**Review!!!!**


	8. Trouble on the horizon

**More important information from Kerry:**

**Globally there are over 9,0 species of seaweed divided into three major  
types: green, brown and red. Red is the most species-rich group (6,0) followed  
by brown (2,0) and green (1,200).**

**Also, in her review, she insisted that I add another chapter to this story; I swear, she's addicted, but no matter what Kerry says, Impossible Perfection or getting through tomorrow.**

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**That science exam was insulting, seriously, it was easy, so easy it was insulting, I bet I've got at least a B on it, I guess it being easy was a good thing, maybe most of my other exams will be like it, especially math, I'm failing math big time, why I'll need the quadratic formula, etc in the future I don't know, I guess I'll just have to figure it out.**

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**Regarding the theory about second chances theory in the last chapter, that is actually one of my many theories, you'll probably discover more of my theories throughout all of my stories, I think the most random one I have is one I share with Kerry, we have this theory that poison tastes good, we just need someone to try it and tell us before they die! I know, I know, random.**

**This is how we got that theory:**

**(School canteen)**

**Kerry: You want some cake?**

**Me: Yeah**

**Kerry gives me cake (I want more by the way, it was seriously good)**

**Me: This is good cake.**

**Kerry: Better than normal.**

**Me: I bet they poisoned it.**

**Kerry: What?**

**Me: It tastes better than normal, so they put poison in it.**

**Kerry: You know what poison tastes like?**

**Me: No, but I bet it tastes good; most thing's we're told not to eat taste good.**

**Kerry: wow, you actually have a point**

**Me: What we need is someone to test this new theory by drinking some poison and telling us how it tastes before they die.**

**Kerry: We should ask Miss Foster.**

**Me: Yeah, let's go now.**

**(5 mins later)**

**Me: Miss, can you drink some poison for us and tell us how it tastes before you die to test our new theory?**

**MF (miss foster): No, why do you two want to kill me so much?**

**Me: Kerry only killed you in her story (love letter by kerry-louise), and she killed me too.**

**MF: Are you two here to annoy me or do you want a job to do?**

**Kerry: Annoy you.**

**That's basically how the conversation went; now you understand how we came up with the poison tastes good theory. Scary? I scare myself sometimes, infact I scared myself going over that conversation, but it'll be great to remember in the future**

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**Just a warning regarding the story, it's not going to stay so happy Troyellawise, this chapter, and possibly the next few chapters may be, but I'm planning a dramatic change, but that's only in my mind right now.**

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**This chapter is dedicated to the kids and staff from my work experience placement, because although it was at the end of November, I still miss them, Tam and Kirra in Impossible perfection are actually based on two of them, and you may find in future stories and chapters that a lot of my younger characters are.**

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**Anyways, onto the story, I had next to zilch inspiration for this so forgive me if it's rubbish.**

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"I saw you last night," the sound of Taylor's voice shocked Gabriella.

"Why creep up on me?" she quizzed her friend.

"Why hide things from me?" the other girl shot back.

"You know why," Gabriella pointed out, "you're my friends, but he's a part of my life too, and he's making an effort, it works both ways Tay, and I want it to work, I've got to at least give him a chance, I didn't know how you guys would react, so I just didn't tell you, it made more sense that way, especially after everything,"

"I'm not mad that you hid it from me last night, you didn't know yourself what was going to happen then," Taylor admitted, "I'm annoyed about the fact that we've just about finished work for the day and you haven't mentioned it once, I have to stay in the loop, it's part of my job as your best friend, besides, you really think that I would have been mad if you'd have told me, come on, you know me better than that, Chad probably would be, but not me, I'm surprised that you'd think that,"

"Sorry," Gabriella sighed, "my head's been sorta messed up since my mom told me something a few days ago,"

"You're not moving again are you?" Taylor shot, clearly alarmed.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Gabriella, answered, "it was about my dad, I wasn't going to tell anyone but after this, I guess I probably should tell you, before you find out some other way,"

Taylor nodded, "right, carry on,"

"He wants to be a part of my life and…" Gabriella tried continuing.

"GABI THAT'S GREAT," Taylor screamed in near excitement.

"How is that great, Tay?" Gabriella quizzed, "when I was a kid he was high on god knows what all the time, when I was eleven mom asked him to watch me for five minutes, he made me climb a tree to get a rope down that he'd thrown up there, the branch snapped, I ended up in hospital and he hasn't been in contact with me since, mom never forgave him for that then all of a sudden he calls out of the blue, telling mom that he wants to know me, what is that about? Does he really think I care? Do you really think it's great that my father is going to show up here any time in the next few days, half-stoned?"

"Gabi, calm down," Taylor demanded before replying, "You don't know for sure he'd have taken anything, you never know, he could have changed,"

"You don't know him like I do," Gabriella pointed out, "it's impossible for him to change, he's bad news, he didn't care about me six years ago, why would he care now?"

"You have to ask him that," Taylor answered, "and seeing as you're going to have the chance to pretty soon, I'd say you're pretty lucky, think about it, you can ask him anything and he won't feel like he has any right to punish you, and you must have questions,"

"Yeah, Tay, I do have questions," Gabriella explained truthfully, "but I can live without knowing the answers,"

"You're scared," Taylor told her, "you're just scared,"

"Scared of what?" Gabriella scoffed.

"Scared that your not gonna like what you here," Taylor started, "scared that he won't be what you expect, scared of how your mom will be affected by this, Gabi, you're just scared of letting him be a dad,"

"I'm not scared ok," Gabriella denied, clearly agitated, "I just don't care about him, he never cared about me so why should I?"

"You know, if you don't want to go alone to meet him, I can come with you," Taylor tried, knowing it would fall on deaf ears.

"I don't need you there," Gabriella replied as predicted, "my mom will be there, she was all I had for nearly six years, she's all I need to deal with him,"

"When you need to talk," Taylor began, "I'm here, whenever you need to talk, and I know you will, sooner or later you will, no matter how stubborn you're being now,"

"Talking's for the weak," Gabriella decided, "I'll Seeya tomorrow,"

"You're mom won't be here yet," Taylor pointed out.

"Troy's taking me home," Gabriella called back in reply as she left the kitchen, glad to get out of the tense situation.

"Whoa, nice car," Troy commented as he pulled up to the side of the road in front of her house thirty minutes later.

Gabriella looked up at the sports car parked in her driveway, she didn't recognise it, but it didn't take much to figure out whom it belonged to,

"He's here," she stated, still watching the car warily, as if it was the vehicle itself that she'd been planning on avoiding for the rest of her life.

"You sure it's him?" Troy asked, concerned.

"Who else could it be?" she sighed, pausing before saying, "can you come with me?"

"Of course," he smiled reassuringly as he stepped out of the truck and walked around to let her out, "don't worry, he's not going to hurt you,"

She gave a weak smile as he led her up the path, taking her keys off of her as he did, she was shaking, it was clear that she was scared, but he knew that she'd never admit it, she was too proud.

They both dropped their bags as soon as the door was closed, making their way towards the lounge.

"Mom?" Gabriella asked at the door, noticing the man that had now turned to face her, she found it hard to believe that she still recognised him.

"You have a good day?" Anna asked, trying to act as if nothing was wrong for her daughter's sake, in reality, she'd spent the last hour trying to get the man to leave, and failing that, trying to get him to explain how he got the address, but once again, all conversations with him had been pointless.

"I guess," Gabriella, answered, "No one drowned,"

"That's good," Anna, commented, smiling faintly at Troy, whom was still standing as close behind Gabriella as he could, "how about you Troy?"

"I got hit in the arm with a golf club," he grinned, gaining a smile off of Gabriella as he tried to make it seem like an achievement.

"Kids got the better of you," Anna teased.

"Kids, no," he answered, "Sharpay was the one that hit me, I was daydreaming, about a very special girl, she's here, actually, she's cute when she blushes,"

Gabriella had been trying to listen to the conversation intently as a distraction from the man that was currently staring at her, but it was hard when his eyes were piercing into her, it was hard to ignore him, some people were just impossible to deal with.

"So, what does he want?" Troy finally spoke up, knowing that Gabriella herself wouldn't bring up the man, and Anna was also unlikely to.

"Aaron?" Anna questioned, "He was just leaving,"

"Not until I speak to my daughter," the man protested.

Troy could hardly see how this man was related to Gabriella, she looked so much like her mother, and she had inherited so little from her father, that if you didn't know they were related, you wouldn't.

"I told you, she doesn't want to see you, she won't even look at you, doesn't that tell you anything?" Anna shot back, obviously becoming angry.

"You've poisoned her mind against me, that's why, she doesn't trust me because you've spent the past six years teach her not to," Aaron continued the argument.

"Why would she need to do that?" Gabriella spoke up, finally facing him, "you done a pretty good job of doing that yourself, you don't need my mom's help to turn me against you, and we don't need you causing trouble in our lives,"

"Classic, Anna, just classic," Aaron smirked, "making her think that I turned her against myself, very smart of you, personally I'd never have thought of it, brilliant idea though, brilliant, and now she's glaring at me like she hates me, everyone here knows that she can't hate me, she's never had the ability to hate anyone, she's always been daddy's good little girl,"

"Mt father died when I was eleven," Gabriella stated, coming off emotionless, "he died the day I nearly did, the day he risked my life because he was too high to give a damn about anyone but himself,"

"That, Gabi, is in the past," Aaron decided, "What is in the past, must stay there,"

"Don't call me Gabi," she demanded, "only my friends and family call me Gabi, you are neither,"

"Sweetie," Aaron tried a softer approach, but she pulled back, feeling Troy firmly grip her shoulders as he pushed her behind him.

"Stay away from her," he ordered, "she clearly doesn't want you here, so why don't you just leave, why are you making things difficult for her?"

"Because she needs to understand," Aaron explained, "but I can see she's not ready, so I'll come back tomorrow, we can talk then,"

Without another word, Aaron walked past the pair of them towards the front door.

Gabriella ran to her mother as soon as it was closed, hugging her like nothing else mattered.

"I don't want him to come back," the teen cried.

"I know, baby, I know," Anna told her, "and I'll do all I can to keep him away, I promise,"

The older woman smiled thankfully at Troy, still clutching her daughter tightly as she mouthed, "She cannot be left alone,"

He nodded in agreement, understanding that Aaron had a better chance of getting to her if she was.

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**Wow, you find out quite a bit about her dad in that chapter, and it's probably the longest one I've written all week, it's over 2000 words, most of my chapters are only around 1200.**

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**Anyways, review!!!**


	9. Restraining talk

**Ok, even though I have one more exam, I've de-stressed for the weekend so I wrote, and now I'm updating, hopefully it's not too terrible, or too short for that matter.**

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**I'm hoping to finish the oneshot for Tribe tomorrow, those of you who have me on author alert (for whatever strange reason) will be told, obviously, it's not HSM (obviously) but it can make sense even if you don't watch The Tribe because of it's starting point, so you should be able to understand it if you want to read it.**

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**Hey, here's a question, how can you five me all five? I was just reading back on this story because it's been so long since I last updated it, and in the competition chapter (chapter 6) I put that you have to be the first to five me all five in the bottom authors notes, but I haven't quite figured out what I meant by that, yes I know it's a typo, but I like to make fun of myself when these things happen.**

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**Anyway, I can't be bothered to ramble, so I'm just going to let you read, like I did with Impossible perfection a few days ago, I'm going through a lazy phase, infact, thinking about it, you're probably lucky that I'm writing at all because I've gotten so lazy.**

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"It's a nice place, this Lava Springs,"

Gabriella froze as she heard the voice, deciding to listen to her mother for once in her life, and not even acknowledge that he was there.

"Very fancy," the man continued, "didn't really think you'd be one to enjoy fancy but we all make mistakes in judgments don't we,"

She sighed at the message he was trying to give her, mistakes in judgment, there was no way she had misjudged him, he was still the drug-addicted creep he was six years ago, people like him didn't change, she'd given up ever hoping that he would when she was young, she didn't expect him to now.

"Problem with this place," he spoke up again, "you apply for membership and they don't ask enough questions, they let you in before you're a member, you should talk to someone about that,"

She continued gazing out over the pool, ignoring him, but at the same time knowing that he wouldn't just leave, he was going to stay, she needed someone, anyone, where was everyone?

"Gab?" A voice quizzed her from her left, automatically ruling out the man she was avoiding, "You ok? You seem kinda, out of it,"

"I'm good," she insisted, turning to the boy standing next to her, "I'm great,"

"Liar," the boy stated, "what's wrong?"

She sighed, turning to him, "you see that guy down there?"

"The one climbing the rock?" he asked, "he's not allowed up here, you know,"

She widened her eyes in alarm, climbing, as in, towards her, he really was trying to make her life difficult, just when she'd got so close to sorting everything out.

"Your mom tell you to ignore me?" the man questioned, "or was it that boyfriend of yours, they both seem to hate me,"

"Ryan, is Chad still in the kitchen?" she quizzed, faking a smile, something that had become so easy over the past few weeks."

"No," the boy replied, "he's right down there, CHAD,"

She watched her friend's head turn to face them as he heard Ryan yell, frowning as he saw the man on the rock with them, questioning them with looks as he began to make his way over.

"You ok?" he asked as he reached them, "I'm meant to be working,"

"This guy's annoying me," Gabriella told him, "you were the closest that could possibly do anything about it,"

She turned, smirking as Chad turned on Aaron, "you bugging my sis?"

"I'm not, as you say, bugging, anyone," Aaron claimed, "I am simply attempting to have an adult conversation with my daughter, whom, it seems, is incapable of behaving like an adult, probably because of her mother's inability to act like one,"

"Dude, are you like, a stalker or something?" Chad questioned, "cos that is actually, technically illegal,"

"You know, you look even dopier than the boyfriend," Aaron decided, "and he looked pretty dopey,"

"Don't bring him into this," Gabriella defended, "don't you dare ever mention him,"

"So it is possible for you to speak to me," Aaron pointed out, "funny, how you let me insult your mother but I even try insulting the boyfriend and you go off on one, must be pretty serious between you and this Todd guy,"

Chad turned to me, confusion etched on his face, "who's Todd?"

I shrugged, "this guy's imaginary friend or something, I dunno,"

"I think he means Troy," Ryan inputted, "you know, got the name wrong,"

"Since when were you back on speaking terms with him?" Chad questioned, seemingly forgetting Aaron.

"Can we talk about this later?" I asked quickly, making him turn back to Aaron.

"I didn't remember how amusing teenagers could be," Aaron laughed, watching the three of us carefully, "I missed so much, to think that I missed out on this, heartbreaking, you guys are hilarious,"

"Is he on crack?" Ryan quizzed as Aaron continued to laugh.

"Probably," I told him, thinking about how much of a coincidence it was for him to say that "was when I last saw him,"

"So you do know him?" Chad asked, turning back to me, "who is he?"

"Biologically," I started, "he's my father, but really, he's nothing,"

"Ouch," Aaron spoke up, "painful, sweetie, painful, but I can get past it, I can forgive you, just like I think you can forgive me,"

"Maybe when I have a death wish," I suggested, "I'll let you try and kill me again, you failed before and all but you never know, this time you might succeed,"

"You still blame me for that?" Aaron questioned, "I could understand it when you were a kid, but now, you're practically an adult, it was not my fault that the branch of that tree snapped, I didn't make it snap, you…"

"You made me go up there," Gabriella pointed out, "I wouldn't have been up that tree in the first place if you hadn't thrown the dog's rope up there and told me to go get it, I wouldn't have been in that tree if you had been in your right mind and not doped up, so no matter what way you look at it, it was your fault,"

"Your mother knew, Gabriella," Aaron argued, " she knew I'd been taking drugs, yet she still left you with me, so if you want to blame someone, blame her,"

She watched in disbelief as he turned and walked away, did she really just hear him claim that her mom put her in danger knowingly, did she really even believe his claims, he'd never given her any reason to believe anything he said before, but when she thought about it, it seemed so clear, how could you not see that someone had taken drugs? Why would you leave your child with someone who had obviously taken drugs and was clearly a threat to them?

"That guy," Chad decided, "is weird,"

"Want me to warn Fulton about him?" Ryan suggested thoughtfully, "If he's trying to become a member I can get that stopped, if he's stalking you, there are things that can be done to keep him away, we could get a restraining order!"

"Dude, you sound excited about getting a restraining order, that's freakier than the time you thought you were being punk'd," Chad commented, "never did meet Ashton though, did ya?"

Ryan shook his head, "How great would that be though?"

"Getting a restraining order or meeting Ashton?" Chad pondered, clearly amused by the tendency he and Ryan both had, to speak before they think.

"Meeting Ashton," Ryan told him, showing concern for the other teen boy's mental health, "why would getting a restraining order be great?"

"You just seemed so excited about it," Chad explained, watching as Gabriella laughed at the interaction between the two.

"Chad, do you even know what a restraining order is?" she finally asked him, involving herself in the conversation.

"It's like someone being ordered to keep food away from you, right? You know, like ordering in a restaurant but the opposite, because the food is being kept from you" he questioned, "and Ryan's excited cos he likes being starved, and it's weird,"

"Promise me something?" she asked, smiling as he nodded, "promise me you'll tell Taylor your version of a restraining order,"

"Sure thing," he agreed, not understanding why she wanted him to explain it to his girlfriend, "why would she need a restraining order?"

"She doesn't," Gabriella, grinned, "I just think she'd like to hear about it,"

He nodded, "I'd better get back to work,"

As soon as he walked away the remaining two started laughing, pleased that they'd managed to hold it back as long as they did.

"He's a living legend! Food!" Gabriella grinned, "he's right though, I should be working right now, too,"

"I have to find Sharpay," Ryan admitted, " Leah told me earlier that she wanted to see me, if I avoid it any longer, she's gonna know something's up, and she'll come looking for me herself, I don't want to give her any more reasons to try and get at you,"

Gabriella smiled, nodding as he walked away, turning her gaze back to the pool, as she did noticing that Aaron was still hanging around, sitting by the poolside, seemingly reading a magazine, the man just wasn't going to give up.

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**Ok, so Chad's personalised restraining order, don't ask, I can be a bit mental sometimes, and I decided to make this chapter random, hence, creating Chad's version of a restraining order.**

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**Now, as it is the early hours of the morning, and I am still not tired, I am going to go and watch HSM2 for the second time tonight, mainly because I never took the DVD out of the player and it is still on the menu playing the instrumental version of humuhumunukunukuapua'a, see, I know I could have put the short version, but where's the fun in that, besides, I like typing out humuhumunukunukuapua'a it's fun, try it:**

**Humuhumunukunukuapua'a**

**Humuhumunukunukuapua'a**

**Humuhumunukunukuapua'a**

**Ok typing it isn't as fun as saying it, but it's still awesome.**

**Answer to what you're probably asking yourself: Yes I am easily amused, I also like typing out supercalifragelisticexbialidocious and sometimes even dociousaliexpiisticfragicalirupus, because it's in the song, even though supercalifragelisticexbialidocious backwards is really suoicodilaibxecitsilegarfilacrepus, and that has the word leg in it, which is another random fact.**

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**So, I've decided, that I need to read some more fanfiction stories, so I have decided, to read a story of the first reviewer, because I can, and that doesn't include Kerry, because, being the awesome friend that I am, I've read all of her stories.**

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**Did anyone watch Primeval, that was awesome, with the future mutations of sharks nearly killing Abby, then Connor telling Abby he can't leave her behind and let her die at the other side of the anomaly because he loves her (Awwww) and then denying it when she asked about it at the end.**

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**Ahhh, my computer is making funny noises, it's gonna explode, Kerry, what did you do to it?**

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**Did you know Ghost Whisperer got CBS 9.9 million viewers, I think it was for the last episode of season three before the writers strike, awesomeness, don't cha think, Ghost Whisperer rocks socks, clean socks at that.**

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**OMG, I just realised, I have moved my random rant, it's gone from the start of the chapter to the end, is it better here? Your choice.**

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**I've also noticed that this rant has made the chapter longer, and i keep telling myself i'm going to stop writing rants that are long enough to affect the length of the chapter.**

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**ANYWAYS, REVIEW!!!!! (AND WATCH PRIMEVAL, IT'S AWESOME)**


	10. Shocks

**Random Fact: I like the pace this story is going, although it was slowed down by my mocks (which are now officially over, I have four days of school until half term now), but that was a good thing, now I'm less stressed I can concentrate on my writing.**

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**I know I said the Tribe oneshot would be done yesterday, but I went to the cinema, and although I was home today practically all day except for one exam, I was getting beaten up, because the kids my mom looks after and my sis are evil, and their school was closed today when it should have been open.**

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**In other news, today I watched New York minute and Mean Girls while Kerry was in school doing Tech work.**

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**Ok, no more rant.**

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**Except: YOU GUYS ROCK! 74 REVIEWS IN 9 CHAPTERS, THAT'S A LOT FOR ONE OF MY STORIES, KEEP IT UP.**

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"Tay," Chad called as he walked into the kitchen, "Where is she?"

"Chad, where are we?" Zeke questioned, gesturing around him.

"Work," Chad replied, not getting it.

Zeke sighed and began a slow explanation, "if we're and work, don't you think it's very likely that Taylor is working?"

"Why would she do that?" Chad continued asking stupid questions.

"I have no idea," Zeke lied; not really wanting to continue with a conversation while there was food in the oven that had to turn out perfectly.

Chad shrugged and turned around, coming face to face with Troy, whom was closely followed by Sharpay.

"She's not allowed in here," he stated, glancing at her, then added sarcastically in a whisper, "wouldn't it be just terrible if she got hurt,"

"No," Troy stated, seriously, "what's Aaron doing here?"

"Aaron?" Chad asked sceptically.

"The guy trying to talk to Gabi, what did he want?" Troy continued, "I saw him so don't avoid the question, what does he want now?"

"Now?" Chad quizzed, "you mean you've met him before?"

"Yesterday," Troy answered, "you see him around, keep him away from her, he doesn't go near her, ok?"

"Ryan wants to starve him," Chad told him, "say's he's going to get a restraining order,"

Troy nodded, hiding his confusion over his possible friend's comment, "So, you're actually talking to me now?"

"Depends," Chad answered, "on whether you're planning on keeping your dog in here,"

"I heard that!" Sharpay screeched, "I hope you know I could get you fired for that, I have a witness to what you said, don't I Troy?"

"Really," Troy replied, "who?"

"You, silly," Sharpay smiled, "you're my witness,"

"Sorry, heard nothing," he claimed, "I should get back to work though,"

Chad stood still for a while as Troy walked off, Sharpay flouncing off after him, he wasn't sure whether his friend was back to normal or not, or even if he could still be trusted, but if Gabriella trusted him, then he knew that he should for her.

"Danforth," he heard Fulton hiss, snapping him out of his trance, "get out there, the members are getting hungry,"

He nodded; hurrying past his boss and into the dining room, ready to wait on tables for the next few hours, it was going to be a long day full of confusion, with this Aaron guy's appearance, now seemingly normal Troy, starving people with restraining orders and being told to tell Taylor about it, what was going on with the world?

"Hi, my name is Chad and I'll be…" he began, looking up to face the occupants of the table, "what are you doing here?

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**Short, I know, it's only like, 603 words or something, i think i might diagnose myself with longchapterphobia, but then how would i explain my long chapters (shorchapterphobia?) anyways it makes sense to end it there, and it's kinda just filler ramble, ok filler ramble with a minor cliffy, so what? I needed to do something to stop you hating me (or Kerry actually seeing as she's the one that kept me on this game all day and not writing, lol, jks)**

**

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****REVIEW!!!**


	11. Oh brother

**Ok, no ramble, ramble is pointless, it is a waste of time if it comes at the start of a chapter.**

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**As for the cliffy, Kerry and I were discussing it last night, she said it was Darbus, then she said it was me, then she said something about it being a sponge, she gave up guessing in the end because I said that I didn't know yet, but of course, I am all knowing, I know exactly who it is, and Kerry was wrong on all guesses, it was actually impossible to guess, because…**

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The girl stared back at him, an uncaring look in her eye, showing recognition but not greeting him.

"Water," she demanded rudely, "then possibly a salad, followed by a latte, depends how I feel, got that?"

He nodded, attempting to make a quick escape to the kitchen, but felt himself being held back.

"Nice to see you again, Danforth," he heard her smirk and turned back to face her, "maybe someday soon we should finish what we started,"

"No," he refused, "Melissa, we're not together anymore, we broke up for a reason, and I'm happy now,"

"You know you miss what we had," Melissa smiled, "we were good together,"

"I have better now," he stated, "my girlfriend, she's my everything, I won't let you wreck that, what I have with her, it's better than anything I ever had with you,"

"I could be better than her," Melissa continued, "it's only been a year, we can go back to where we were,"

He started at her, before turning on his heel and stalking back to the kitchen, this was bad, Melissa wasn't the sort of girl who would give up, he'd have to tell Taylor about her, he didn't have a choice.

"Chad?" asked a voice from behind him, "did you tell Taylor yet?"

He whipped his head round, staring at the girl, "Tell Taylor what?"

"About the restraining order," the girl explained, backing off slightly, "are you ok?"

"Yeah, Gab, I'm fine," he insisted, "Can we talk later?"

She nodded, watching him curiously, there was no way she believed that he was ok, he never snapped, not at her anyway, it just didn't happen.

"Great," he answered, faking a smile, "you seen Taylor?"

"She was by the pool a minute ago," she told him, still curious as to why his mood had suddenly changed.

He nodded, turning and walking away, she watched him until he was out of sight, something was definitely up.

"On a break?" a voice questioned from behind her, startling her, "or just skiving,"

"You know me better than that," she stated, turning around as she smiled, "you on a break too, Kels?"

"Oh, no," her friend replied, "I'm skiving,"

"Sure you are," she smirked sarcastically.

"You know who is?" Kelsi quizzed, not waiting for an answer, "Chad, he just bailed out of the dining room and now he's disappeared from the face of the earth, Fulton sent me to come and find him,"

"He just went outside, looking for Taylor," Gabriella explained, "he seemed, well, weird,"

"When isn't he weird?" Kelsi pointed out, "he surprises us all with the things he does on a daily basis,"

"Beyond his normal weird," Gabriella continued, "distracted or something, like something's wrong,"

"He was serving this girl before he left, he kinda just, ran off, like he knew her or something," Kelsi elaborated, "I couldn't exactly go and ask, I was playing piano, Fulton would have thrown a fit if I'd just disappeared aswell, but he'll be ok, whoever that girl is, she can't be hanging around for long, and even if she does, we won't be here forever, so if she's the cause of a problem, it'll sort itself out, right?"

Gabriella nodded, curious as to whom this girl was, but knowing that checking wasn't an option, she had to get back to work, she wasn't technically on a break, she'd been sent to get more towels, so she made her excuses, collected the towels and headed back outside.

"Kid!" she heard a voice announce as she arrived back at the pool, "I was thinking of buying a house around here, where would you recommend,"

She sighed, continuing to walk as she ignored him. Kid? She hadn't been a kid in years; she'd had to grow up pretty quickly with only one parent, she'd never expected her mom to be able to do everything, she'd had to grow up because she unconsciously knew she needed to help.

"You ignoring me?" he questioned, "that's not a nice thing to do, kid, what happened to that second chances theory your mom always had, I thought she would have drummed that into you by now,"

She rolled her eyes, second chance theory, second being the operative word, third and fourth chances weren't a part of it, and he'd left them too many times, each time he'd come back, and her mom always forgive him, but this time had to be different, he'd been gone for six years, the longest he'd ever been gone before, and just before he left, he risked her life, and she knew without a doubt that her mom wouldn't let that happen again, they were all eachother had.

"You know," he continued, "I really thought you'd want to know, that you'd want to meet your brother, the two of you are the reason I cleaned up my act,"

She froze, shocked to the core, Brother? She didn't have a brother. Did she?

"Yes, kid," he assured, "I have a son, he's four years old, and I think it's about time he met his big sister,"

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**Ok, personally I think the ending is a little rushed, and I'm not too sure about this chapter, but I guess that's up to you, not me, onto the semi-newly placed, end of chapter ramble.**

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**JUSTICE FOR SOFTMINTS, THEY GET EATEN TOO MUCH (BY ME)**

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**In Science today, we had to draw some lines on a bit of paper with a meter ruler, I measured Kerry, and she's just short, I swear.**

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**Tomorrow I have no lessons, legendary. My mom is sorting out the forms for a school trip to the theatre; it's a drama trip (obviously)**

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**Did you know, soft mints make Cola taste weird?**

**Did I ever tell you about Frugs? They are marshmallows dipped I melted chocolate, Kerry named them.**

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**OMG, I need to write a oneshot using the song I'm listening to, I have to, it's like, my unwritten law, if I hear a good song I have to write a oneshot. It can't go in the oneshots story though, because it would be a songfic also, and therefore would not fit.**

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**I'm nearly out of ramble, need ideas, big ideas, oh yeah, science, the thing we were drawing on the paper was because we were testing out vision, we were meant to use one eye and check eight directions, I switched eyes twice, and then for two of them, we switched people, so it was Kerry checking two of the directions, so we mucked up the experiment, and our teacher now thinks I have abnormal sight, Yay**

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**You know that storyline for The Bill I mentioned in the authors notes for one of my stories like, two weeks ago, it's still going on, it's some eight episode arc, I think tonight's is the seventh, there's one more episode of the show this week so it's either the 5****th**** or the 7****th.**

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**I haven't updated my site in like, forever, none of you even go on it but I normally update it weekly, it does have HSM chipmunk versions on it after all, who doesn't love those, well, probably quite a few people, but I find them hilarious.**

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**My friend's mom has written a book, one of the characters is based on me, it is being released for sale in April sometime, although that may be just England, I have to read it, because I'm in it, if a book has me in it, it has to rule.**

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**Did you know I would only eat grated cheese?**

**FACT: Fruit is bad for your teeth; it has too much sugar in it.**

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**My cat is so lazy, he sleeps all day, he's sleeping while I'm slaving away like a prisoner in school.**

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**I have holes in my socks, that rules them out being new, we found this thing online (it's on my site actually) called things to do in a lift, and one of them is, "stare smiling at someone in the lift for a while then suddenly announce 'I'm wearing new socks'" could you image doing that, they'd think you're mental, which is fine if you are, but if you're not, not so good.**

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**OMG, i haven't updated Getting through in like, two weeks, and i probably won't for a while, i'm way behind with that story, and every spare moment i have right now is spent on this story and Impossible Perfection, and i have total writers block with Getting Through, i don't know where i'm taking it, but give me a week, i'll soon have something, besides, it's ending at chapter 40 anyway.**

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**Did you know we're getting coverage of the presidential election in England? Randomness. I think my cat should win, because, come on, lets face it, who wouldn't vote for a cat? I would, they're furry and go meow. Problem is, he's not in the race, so he can't be voted for, and he's English, maybe he should be elected prime minister instead.**

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**Anyways, enough ramble.**

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**REVIEW!!!!!**


	12. Avoidance

**Regarding the rant: I'm not going to stop putting up the random rant just because someone doesn't like it, the rant is specifically for my friend, whom prefers reading the rant to the story as she's random, she reviews the rant, I am not forcing you to read it, I make it bold so you know it is rant and not part of the story, giving you an option as to whether you read it or not, if you don't like it, don't read it, and don't waste your time complaining about it as I'm not going to stop because one person thinks I should.**

**Only one person had a problem, this person decided to tell me it shouldn't be there, they are my stories, if I want it there, it will be there.**

**I'm incredibly sorry to those of you who aren't complaining about the rant (which is most of you) as you either like it or couldn't care less about it, it just really annoys me that people read the rant if they don't want to, why bother, they are wasting their own time by reading and reviewing the rant, and are wasting my time by making me read pointless reviews about it, the rant has been moved to the end so you can get rid of the screen after you finish reading the chapter if you don't want to read the rant, IT'S OPTIONAL, don't read it then have a fit about how pointless it is, I know it's pointless, I did write it, this is going to appear in all of my stories, because it applies to all of them not just this one.**

**I have also been told by another reader that they enjoy the rant, so I won't drop it based on one opinion.**

**The above was approved of by my rant-reader and friend, we have both decided that the rants will continue at the end of chapters as usual, if I didn't continue them, there would probably be no future to any of my stories, because she would kill me in a science lesson, even though she is short (sorry, vertically challenged)**

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**Ok, moving on, next Chapter of Impossible Perfection should be up soon, like in twelve hours or something, I'm writing it right now, I'm enjoying writing it actually**

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Gabriella ran, she didn't see any other options open to her, a brother? It wasn't possible, she was an only child, she'd always been an only child, and she couldn't have a brother, it just wasn't possible.

Except that it was, she knew it was possible, and she knew because she hadn't seen her father in six years, a half-brother was definitely a possibility, just because she hadn't expected it, didn't mean that it could never happen, and she wasn't sure she could ignore it anymore.

So she ran from him, ran from him just like he had, in a way, ran from her and her mother all those years ago, ran until she heard light music coming from around a corner, a different version of a song she recognised.

She turned the corner, hearing the lyrics get louder, the words repeating in her head as she looked up at the stage.

They hadn't actually discussed this since she'd learnt second hand that he was bailing on them to be in the talent show with Sharpay, but she was surprised how much it hurt, not just that he was singing with someone else, but the song they were singing, a song that had been written specially, a song that had not been meant for the girl now singing it.

She shook her head as his blue eyes met her brown, blinking back tears as she began to run again, she couldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, tears showed weakness, and she couldn't be weak, not with everything that was going on, she knew the direction she was running would lead her back to her father, but she didn't care, if she didn't get back to work soon anyway she'd lose her job, what did it matter? Facing her father was better than facing him right now, better than facing the real problem.

She could tell he was following her, it was an instinct she got, he was a faster runner, and she knew that, she had no doubt that he'd catch her, but once she was at the pool he couldn't get to close, it was a public area, he wouldn't want to make a scene, especially with her father there, not when they had no idea how the man would react.

"Montez!" she heard a voice almost shout.

She turned to see Fulton glaring down his nose at her, and only just refrained herself from rolling her eyes.

"Where have you been?" he asked her, "I believe you were asked to get towels, not to go for an afternoon jog,"

"I was…" she began, "I was, um…"

"She was with me," a voice interrupted, "I asked her to help me with something,"

She glanced gratefully at Ryan who subtly smiled at her as she turned back to her boss.

"Is that so?" Fulton questioned her, making her nod quickly, "then I suggest you get back to work immediately, before you waste any more time,"

She nodded again, hurrying back to her post, spotting Troy watching her out of the corner of her eye, but deciding on ignoring him.

She began watching out over the pool again, spotting her father still sitting, watching her, she wasn't surprised that he was still here, he knew she'd want to know more about this brother, he obviously remembered her curious nature.

"So," she heard Ryan begin, obviously having followed her, "where were you?"

"Just, around," she told him, knowing that he was the one person she could trust to drop it, "I needed to think,"

"That bad, huh?" he commented as she sighed, "don't let your dad get to you, and don't let my sister get to you either, they're not worth it,"

"Thanks, Ry" she gave a weak smile, "for caring, for getting me out of trouble just then,"

"What are friends for?" he questioned, "Are my sister and your dad all that are bothering you?"

She shook her head, knowing that lying wouldn't do much good, "I know you're only asking because you care and all, but if it's all the same, I'd rather not talk about it,"

He nodded in acceptance, knowing not to push her into talking about something she clearly wasn't ready to.

"Do you think I should talk to him?" she suddenly asked, "My dad, I mean, do you think I should give him a chance?"

"Do you want to?" he questioned, not wanting to affect her decision.

"I don't know," she admitted, "I'm just so confused right now, about my dad, Troy, everything really,"

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" he quizzed curiously.

She nodded, suddenly aware that she didn't want to be in this conversation, "I have to work,"

He nodded, smiling at her as he left, she noticed both Troy and her dad were still watching her closely, she turned, fully facing her boyfriend as he mouthed something incoherent to her, turning back to the pool she met her father's gaze, watching him also mouth something to her, but this she got, the two words she'd wanted to hear for a long time, "I'm sorry,"

It didn't take her long to realise that it wasn't enough, that she could never trust him like she had before, but something about his demeanour made her believe him, made her want to give him the chance he'd asked for, but she knew she couldn't, she couldn't give him a reason to stick around, she couldn't give him a reason to continue tormenting her mother, but she had to know, a brother? It was new to her, a sort of adventure, and it was there, sitting on the rocks overlooking the pool, that she came to a decision.

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**I know it's short (about two and a bit pages of story), but it feels so right to end it there, so don't tell me it is.**

** I'm glad I finally found a way to continue it, it may have only been a week or whatever but not being able to write it was really bugging me.**

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**I'm watching charmed, fourth episode I've watched tonight, I can't believe how much I missed it, I haven't watched it in like, ages.**

**Eastenders was awesome; Lorna Fitzgerald was acting up a storm again, strange when the kids can act better than the adults, but she really was brilliant, the most convincing out of the whole cast, and she's only, like, ten or eleven.**

**I'd rant more but I need to continue writing the next chapter of IP, I'll try and have a longer rant for the next chapter, especially for Captain Chav (Kerry), even though she keeps forgetting to call me Paige.**

**My friends mom has started calling me Jasmine, she called earlier, and she forgot my name, and a character in her book (coming out in April) called Jasmine is based on me, I told her I don't mind, it's better than my name anyway.**

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**REVIEW!!!**


	13. Troubling times

**I'M BACK!!!!!**

**Yes I can see you all running in terror at the prospect of me making a return to this story**

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**END CHAPTER **

**Wasn't that short, shortest chapter I've ever written, a whole 0 lines, I'm so proud of myself for managing to write that much. **

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**Just kidding, that made my sister laugh though, she wanted me to leave it, literally just put two lines of authors notes then end the chapter and put it up, but I decided to add the chapter from the other word document, because I'm not as evil as her, and I hate it when people put up solo authors notes half way through their stories without a good reason that don't have a chapter with them, I've never actually done that, if there's something I need all readers to know I'll write a short chapter to go with it, because I know how annoying it is** **to think there's a new chapter and discover that it's an authors note.**

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**I just realised I have no idea what happened in chapter 5, I was reading reviews, and something someone said has made me want to reread chapter 5.**

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**Anyways, onto the story:**

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"Why are you still here?" Taylor quizzed, causing her friend to look up at her, "your shift finished an hour ago, didn't it?"

Gabriella nodded, looking back down at the book in her hands, "I still got half an hour,"

"Isn't your mom picking you up?" Taylor continued questioning.

Gabriella answered by shaking her head, not looking up from the book as she explained, "she's working tonight,"

"So, how you getting home?" Taylor asked another question.

"I was thinking I'd fly," Gabriella suggested, looking up to see her friend's confused reaction, "You are so gullible, you know that?"

Taylor shot her an annoyed glance before deciding to forget about the whole getting home thing for now, "what you reading?"

"A book," Gabriella stated, "cereal box got boring,"

"What is with you today?" Taylor wondered aloud, "You're showing a sense of humour,"

"It's been a funny day," Gabriella told her, looking back down at the pages of the book, it was quite clear to her friend that she wasn't reading it.

"What's on your mind?" Taylor questioned, displaying obvious concern, "and don't say nothing,"

"Zilch," Gabriella smirked as she looked up, grinning as Taylor shot her a stern look.

"Ha Ha," She replied sarcastically, "Truth?"

" Who's that girl with Sharpay?" Gabriella questioned, "and why is she in the kitchen?"

Taylor spun round, watching as Sharpay and a relative stranger approached them.

"Hey girls," Sharpay squealed as she reached them, making Taylor take a step back.

Gabriella sighed, turning her attention back to the book she was using as an attempt to distract herself.

"Erm…Hi," she heard Taylor mutter, "Can I help you with anything?"

"No, Silly," Sharpay answered perkily, "Mel and I wanted to talk to you,"

"I'm Mel," the other girl explained, "it's short for Melissa, I'm your boyfriend's ex,"

That made Gabriella look up, this Melissa girl wouldn't have mentioned that unless she was looking for trouble, there was no other reason, and the fact that Sharpay was there just made trouble even more likely.

"So?" Taylor questioned, adding attitude to her normal demeanour.

"I just thought you'd like to know," Melissa elaborated, "I'm gonna get him back, he's mine, he's always been mine and he always will be,"

"You don't own him," Gabriella shot, standing to defend her friend, "and personally I don't see why he looked at you the first time, let alone why he would again,"

"Says the girl that was running away from her own boyfriend today," Sharpay commented, smirking for all it was worth, " you're losing Troy like Taylor's gonna lose Chad, and there's nothing you can do about it,"

"Sharpay," Gabriella began with newfound strength, "nobody cares what sort of delusions your having, don't you think if he liked you that way he would have made a move already, do you really think he'd still be with me if he liked you in that way, just face the facts, because this game of yours is getting old,"

Sharpay gasped, turning on her heel as she stormed off, Melissa following closely behind her.

"Where did that come from?" Taylor questioned as soon as Sharpay was out of earshot, "I've never heard you that mad before,"

"That's because it's only ever happened once before," Gabriella explained, "and that was before you knew me, she's just lucky she walked away when she did, the last time I felt that mad I hit the guy,"

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Taylor decided, "you really told her,"

"I can deal with people purposely trying to get to me," Gabriella stated, "but if anyone tries to hurt my mom or my friends, that's when I get mad,"

Taylor nodded; watching Gabriella carefully as she sat back down and began pretending to read the book again

She turned away from her friend to see Troy heading towards them, giving her a questioning look.

She shrugged, telling him all she knew when he reached her, "she was being funny, and then she blew a fuse at Sharpay and started pretending to read,"

He nodded, walking past her and over to his girlfriend.

Gabriella looked up, sensing his advance, looking straight back down at the page as she did, determined to at least give the illusion that she had been reading.

"So," he began, sitting next to her, "Good book?"

She smiled at his obvious attempt to start a conversation, they hadn't spoken all day despite his continuous attempts to try and get her to speak to him after the whole singing thing.

She looked up at him, "is my dad still here?"

"I didn't see him," he sighed in apparent relief, "I just got off, you ready to go?"

"One sec," she told him, looking back down at the book.

He sat back, waiting for her to finish pretending to read the last of the page.

"Ok, ready," she decided, slipping the book in her bag as she picked it up.

"Are we just going to avoid talking about what's bugging you?" he questioned, watching as she looked ahead of her as they began walking, barely acknowledging him, "or are we going to talk about it?"

She shrugged as they left the building, walking into the warm night air.

He continued walking for a few steps before realising that she had stopped in her tracks, he followed her gaze to see her father standing by the gate, feeling anger rise at the fact that the man was still here.

He watched as Aaron began walking towards them, edging in front of his girlfriend protectively as he got closer.

"Nice to see you again," Aaron smiled as he reached them, before addressing Gabriella, "nice day?"

She didn't answer, just glared at him, his behaviour told her that he really did expect her to play daddy's little girl now he was back, but she knew that she couldn't six years was a long time, and she couldn't just believe that he suddenly cared now.

"Gabi," Aaron sighed, "don't give me that look, anyone would think you hated me,"

"Maybe she does," Troy spat, "not exactly given her any reason not to have you?"

Aaron regarded him carefully before turning back to his daughter, "I'll see you soon, kid,"

The older man turned and walked way, clearly accepting that he wouldn't get near her as long as she had people around that care about her, but from spending one day at Lava Springs he already knew who could help him get to her, and that was where he'd be starting tomorrow.

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**Ahhhhhhhh it's still short, and I still can't be bothered to rant, accept one thing.**

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**Earlier, was mental, my sister came up to me when I was writing this and went, "What ya doing?" and I answered, "eating cheese," That makes no sense, cos I had no cheese, I was actually drinking cola.**

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**OMG, i just had a seriously long rant saying that i would have put this up last night but my computer was being ssssslllllloooooowwwwww and i gave up, then i pressed submit and the site logged me off so i lost it :(**

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**Ok, i don't have long to rewrite, i have half an hour till i have to leave for school (oh joy), i woke up early today, literally, it was 4.50am, and i couldn't get back to sleep, so i watched HSM2 ( i watched one last night), then i got up earlier than i normally would so i could put this chapter up, then the authors note got deleted, cutting my rant shorter than it would be.**

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**I really gotta wrap it up now, because of school, haha, Kerry would just be leaving, i'll see her before she reads this, maybe i should print it for her, she might actually read the chapter as well as the authors notes then.**

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**Kerry started a new story; it has a snowman in it, exciting times.**

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**Anyways, REVIEW!! (Five for next chapter)**


	14. The Great Hate

**I'm watching greys Anatomy, and then after that, Thunderbirds (AGAIN!! Check latest chapters Impossible Perfection), so no authors notes, no ramble, except this little snippet.**

**Kerry and I have come to the conclusion that we will take our exercise books to PE, we also have decided that source books are made of tomato ketchup. (You gotta love citizenship)**

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"Gab," she heard the voice as soon as she walked back out to the pool, turning to him, she noticed he was continuing to speak, "I figured you didn't like it when I called you kid," 

"When are you going to figure out that whatever you do now will not make up for the past six years?" she asked harshly, "why did you even bother coming back? I don't need you, I don't even want you, five years ago I wanted you and I needed you, but that's changed now, you're nothing to me,"

"You don't get it, do you?" he questioned, "I know you don't want me here, but no matter what you think, you'll always need me,"

"I stopped needing you a long time ago," she replied, "I stopped needing you when my mom started needing me to be stronger, that was your fault, it was your fault that I had to grow up quicker than any other kid, it was all your fault,"

"Your mom tell you that?" he smirked, "it wasn't all my fault, Gabi. Tell me, how much has your mother told you about your grandparents, I'm guessing you've never met them,"

She nodded, she hadn't met them, and she'd spent hours a day imagining what they were like when she was younger, now it hardly ever crossed her thoughts, but what did they have to do with anything.

"Your maternal grandparents," Aaron continued, "they were difficult, to say the least, from the day they met me, they hated me, and the reason you never see them, is because their hate for me stretched to you, they didn't see you as their granddaughter, they saw you as the baby that ruined their daughter's life, they hated us both for it, after the accident, I figured they'd find out, one way or another they always did, I decided it'd be best if I left, that maybe they'd accept you if I wasn't there, that maybe you'd have the life they would have given you if I wasn't your father,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she quizzed, realising how much sense his story made.

"Gabi," he sighed, "your grandparents are loaded, they thought the money was why I wanted your mother, they didn't think I could love her, I did, but they refused to believe it was possible, and of course, your mother did believe it, so they cut her off, their only child, that was just after you were born, by then they'd figured if there was a child they'd have no hope of splitting us up,"

"Why would they do that?" she asked sceptically, "and why are you telling me this now, why not when I was eleven, why not before you left?"

"You were just a kid," he pointed out, "I may have been a lousy dad then, but I didn't want you knowing that, I came back because, well, I have the money to look after you now, I started a company when I moved to LA, at first it was small, but now it's huge, I can let you have the life that your grandparents took away from you, I can give you and your mother all the money you need, I can be everything you need now,"

"What do you mean?" she queried again, looking around desperately for a sign of her friends, but none of them were near, something was definitely up.

"I want you to let me be your dad again," he explained, "I know it's a lot to ask after everything, but you and Alex, you're all that's important now, and even if you don't want me to be around, please, can you at least let me pay for something, college maybe, I just, I have to do something for you,"

She looked him deep in the eye, something told her that he wasn't lying about any of it, and until she knew the truth either way, she didn't want to risk losing what she'd wanted so much over the past few years.

"How did you get me alone?" she quizzed, knowing that he must have done something.

"The daughter of the guy that owns the club," he admitted, "I don't think she likes you, by the way,"

She smiled as she turned on her heel, looking back at him for a second.

"About that dad thing," she watched as he looked up hopefully, "I'll think about it,"

She felt like she'd told the truth for the first time in months, she knew that this time she actually would think about it, could she really afford to pass this opportunity up? And what was with the grandparent thing? She knew she couldn't ask her mom, the last time she'd made that mistake had been years ago now, but she still heard her mom's tears and shouts in the back of her mind whenever she did think about it.

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LATER that night, Gabriella found herself walking through an unfamiliar avenue of Albuquerque, after hours of research that began on her lunch break, she was surprised to find that they didn't live too far away, and even more surprised that her mother still had their address, even if it had been hidden away.

Finding the house they supposedly lived at, she began making her way up the long driveway, noting that it seemed to be the biggest house on the street, Aaron had been right, these people were rich.

Slowly she reached out, ringing the doorbell, holding her breath as she waited for an answer, wondering if she should just run back to the warmth of her best friend's waiting car, then silently cursing herself for getting Taylor involved, but pleased that she had managed to keep her friend out of sight from the people she was about to meet.

She let out her breathe as the door opened, revealing a uniformed man on the other side.

"May I help you?" she heard him question, clearly looking down his nose at her, she stifled a laugh at his appearance, she'd always thought the Lava Springs uniforms were bad, but this was a joke.

"I'm looking for Marco and Sofia Luise," I explained, "it's important,"

"Who shall I tell them is inquiring?" the man continued using his snooty accent.

That stopped her, did they know her name, if they did would they let her in.

"Just tell them it's someone that wants answers," she replied, watching as he nodded, stepping aside to let her into a huge entry hall.

"Wait here," he ordered, walking through a door off to the right.

Gabriella found herself trying to look in all directions at the décor of the vast space, paintings hanging on almost every spare wall, statues in every corner, yet, this certain part of the house still managed to give off a calm and relaxing demeanour.

"Girl?" she jumped, hearing a voice behind her that made her turn quickly, "what do you want girl? I don't have all day,"

"Marco Luise?" she asked, watching a woman appear behind him.

He nodded, "what is it? Are you selling something? Because we're not interested,"

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" she sighed, "I thought you'd at least have a rough idea,"

"Get to the point girl," Marco rushed, eying her suspiciously, "we have CCTV, I'll know if you take anything, you'll go to prison,"

"Aaron was right about you," Gabriella decided, turning to the woman.

"Aaron?" she questioned, then began studying the girl in front of her more carefully, then finally turning her eyes to a picture on the wall.

Gabriella followed her glance, coming face to face with a picture of her mother.

"What do you want, girl?" Marco continued, "Who are you?"

"Gabriella," she spoke as she turned to stare at him, "Gabriella Montez,"

She watched the man repeat his wife's stares from just seconds before, then watched as he turned his attention back to her.

"What do you want?" he questioned, "Money? Your mothers old things?"

"I want to know why you hate me," she stated plainly, "I want to know what I did to make you hate me,"

"Hate you?" Sofia questioned, "We don't know you,"

"You didn't want to know me," Gabriella answered fiercely, "you hate me like you hate my dad, that's why you told mom never to contact you again, that's why she never talks about you, that's why I knew nothing about you until this afternoon,"

"Get out," Marco demanded, "I don't want to deal with some insolent little brat that forces their way into other people's homes,"

She felt hands on her shoulder, and looked up to see it was the butler just as he spoke, "time to go, kid,"

She kicked him, making him loosen his grasp as she ran out of it, right into the faces of her grandparents as she snarled, "that's why you weren't there when Aaron nearly killed me,"

She watched the look on her grandmother's face turn to one of horror as she screamed at the butler to leave.

Gabriella turned to see the man scurrying out of the room, clearly more intimidated by the woman than he had ever been before.

"Aaron what?" Marco questioned, "Is Anna ok?"

"You don't care about her," Gabriella whispered, "don't even pretend you do,"

She turned, planning to walk away as she felt an arm grasp her shoulder.

"We do care," Marco insisted in a softer voice, "she's our daughter, we can't just stop caring, we cut her off because we couldn't bear to see someone we care about slipping away from us,"

"So why bother caring in the first place, right?" Gabriella stated, feeling a tear slip down her cheek, "why start to care about someone that's half of someone you hate,"

"Who told you that?" Sofia asked, "Who told you we hate you?"

"Aaron," Marco answered for me, "Anna wouldn't say something like that, but Aaron, Aaron would,"

"And you've done nothing to prove him wrong," Gabriella pointed out, shrugging her shoulder loose and running out of the door before either of them could stop her.

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**Hey it's a semi-long chapter, it must be my birthday, wait, it is, in a few days anyway, yes, next weekend I shall be sixteen, whereas this weekend, I am fifteen, it sounds weird when I put it like that.**

**The highlight of turning sixteen: I CAN BUY SILLY STRING!!!!**

**Yep, it's true; you gotta be sixteen to buy silly string, how lame is that?**

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**Anyways, I decided, that as a special treat for my birthday, I will try and update every one of my stories over this week, maybe including the Tribe oneshot, and another HSM oneshot, how long has it been since I put one of those up? (and no that doesn't unclude this chapter, it's seven days from monday)**

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**Ok, I'm gonna go, watching Greys Anatomy remember.**

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**Review!!!! (five for next chapter)**


	15. Parental Concern

Anna worried about her daughter all the time, but never so much as she was now.

Gabriella never ignored her, but that night, as soon as she'd got home, she'd ran upstairs without so much as a hello, that's where she'd been since, locked up in her room, existing in an unbearable silence, no reply came to the questions she asked, no acknowledgement was even gained, the teen hadn't even looked up when her mother had opened the door, but to the woman that knew her best, it was obvious that she had been crying, clear that she was confused, and Anna hated that her daughter ever felt like that.

Anna sighed as she looked back up the stairs, she hated not knowing what had affected her daughter so much, but she didn't want her own child to end up hating her for interfering.

She turned from the stairs as the doorbell rang, not wondering why someone was calling at their house this late, she rushed to it, wanting to distract herself from her daughter to prevent herself from trying to coax out her daughter's problems.

She gasped in surprise when she opened the door, seeing the last people she ever expected to see again.

"Anna, may we come in?" came the voice of her father, a voice she hadn't heard in nearly seventeen years.

She nodded, stepping aside, glancing nervously up the stairs again, she didn't know that Gabriella had met them, and she'd never planned for her to, Marco and Sofia were not the sort of people she ever wanted her daughter dealing with.

"I suppose you know why we're here," Marco stated, regarding her curiously.

"Actually no," Anna admitted, "I have no idea why you've shown up on my doorstep after seventeen years,"

"You mean to say she didn't tell you?" she heard her Sofia exclaim, "you'd think she would've said something,"

"Who?" Anna enquired, "and keep it down, I don't want Gabriella to hear you,"

"Hear us!" Marco laughed, "you don't want her to hear us, how sweet, protecting her from us are you, when you should have been protecting her from that father of hers,"

"What are you talking about?" Anna immediately tried covering, hiding her inner turmoil.

"That man nearly killed her," she heard him state firmly, "his own child, I told you he was bad news Anna, but you wouldn't listen, you should have came back home, but no, not only were you too stupid to come back for your own safety, you left your own child vulnerable,"

"Who told you?" she demanded, glaring at him, "how do you know this? Mom?"

"We didn't think she'd tell you," Sofia answered, pausing before deciding to explain, "Gabriella herself told us, Anna, when she decided to turn up at our home unexpected, she was incredibly rude to your father, accused us of hating her and then ran out, just like you did, if my memory serves me correctly,"

"She came to see you?" Anna quizzed, her voice shaking, how could her own daughter have been so stupid?

She watched as her parents nodded before continuing, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again, we'll just go back to how everything was before, that way you don't have to…"

"There are no pictures of Aaron," the older woman suddenly pointed out, gesturing to the walls, "am I to assume he's gone?"

"He's been gone for six years," Anna explained, "he's just came back, and he's getting to her, she doesn't say it but I know he is, she's changed since he got here,"

"He left," Marco stated, suddenly becoming angry, "he left and you never told us,"

"You didn't care," Anna, insisted, "you made that clear when I chose him and Gabi over you,"

"DAMN IT, DON'T YOU GET IT," Marco yelled, "IT WASN'T YOU WE HAD A PROBLEM WITH, IT WASN'T GABRIELLA, IT WAS HIM,"

Anna stepped back, not even in her childhood had she ever heard him shout like that, she didn't say anything, knowing that he wasn't done.

" Do you know how I felt when my own granddaughter turned up at my house asking why I hated her?" he questioned, "if you'd have said when he'd left we'd have been here, but now you're letting him poison her mind, letting him tell her that we hate her, and don't even try saying that was you, I raised you, I know you're not like that,"

"It's true though, isn't it?" Anna quizzed, "you do hate her, you hate her because she's a part of him,"

"WHEN ARE YOU…" he stated, stopping as he was cut off.

"STOP IT, JUST STOP IT!" a new voice shouted.

Anna immediately spun around, seeing the fear in her daughter's eyes, she rushed to her, only to be pushed away with a simple sentence that sounded foreign coming from her daughter, "there's no point in pretending to care about anyone but yourself, it just makes everyone mad, we should all just face the facts, we're all alone,"

She watched as Gabriella ran back upstairs; before it dawned on her that the teen had heard everything, and it couldn't have done anything but add to her confusion.

"Always running to her room when things go wrong, is she?" Marco asked, watching Anna intently for an answer.

"Better than out the door," Anna snapped, recalling the time she had done just that when she was seventeen, her parents hadn't stopped her then, and they hadn't stopped her the countless times after that.

GABRIELLA picked up her cell as soon as she was back in her room, tears streaming down her face as she quickly dialled the number that she knew by heart.

"Hey," came his soft voice as he answered, making her thank god for caller ID, "you ok?"

"Troy?" she sobbed.

"You're at home, right?" he questioned, she replied with a chocked yes that he understood clearly, "I'll be right there,"

"Thank you," she whispered as she hung up, knowing that, as well as not being able to avoid her family any more, she also couldn't avoid the discussion she had to have with him about what had made her run the other day, the incident he had been trying to get her to talk about over the past few days.

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**I know it's short, but it feels right to end it there, it wouldn't be that short if it didn't, let me off for today at least, it's my birthday tomorrow. LOL, like that's got anything to do with it.**

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**I'm hoping to have getting through updated Friday, there won't be any tomorrow, my friend's gonna be here, that would be rude.**

**REVIEW (5 for next chapter as always)**


	16. Comfort

**Forget the oneshot, I really wanted to get this up.**

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He pushed open the already unlocked balcony door, figuring out that the front door wasn't much of an option, he wouldn't get past her mom and this time, but he needed to get to her, and he needed to get to her quickly, she needed him, and that was all that mattered right now.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly as she ran to him, crying into his chest, he knew that if there was ever a time to talk about what had happened days ago, this wasn't it, so he never expected her to bring it up in their conversation.

"Shhhhh," he soothed, "it's ok, I'm here, and I'll be here as long as you need,"

"Are they still here?" he heard her whisper, her voice muffled because of her refusal to move her head to speak, "is the car still here?"

He sighed, remembering the unfamiliar car that had been on the driveway when he had arrived, "yes, I think so, who is it?"

"My grandparents," she sobbed as she finally lifted her head, "Troy, they keep shouting, I didn't know what else to do, they keep saying stuff, staff that's the opposite of what my dad told me and I don't know who to believe and then there's the song and I don't know what to…"

He noticed she had cut herself off as she began to back away from him.

"Gabi?" he questioned, "you want to talk about the song?"

"You should go," she stated, pushing him back as he tried to approach her again, "you shouldn't be here, you have to go,"

"I'm not going anywhere," he insisted, "you called because you needed me, I'm not just gonna leave because you say I should, you're clearly not happy about a lot of things, and if I can make any of that go away I want to, but you have to let me, although sometimes I wish I could, I can't read your mind, you're gonna have to help me here, tell me what's wrong,"

She looked up at him, and as she noticed the worry in his eyes, she done the one thing she never thought she'd do, she nodded, she agreed to tell him everything, and by doing so, she agreed to let him in, and she hadn't let anyone in for a long time.

He smiled as he sat on the bed, watching her as she sat down next to him, fixing her eyes on the floor. He squeezed her hand in reassurance, prompting her to tell him whatever she was comfortable with him knowing.

"I don't want you to sing that song with her," she stated, not looking up from the floor, "that song was written for us, I don't want her singing it,"

"I don't know what I can do about that," he admitted, "Sharpay loves that song, if I refuse to sing it with her, she could revert back to whatever she was singing with Ryan, I need to do this for the scholarship,"

She didn't look up, he could tell she was near to tears and began cursing himself for making things worse when he wanted to make it all better.

He heard her mumble something under her breath, grimacing as he hoped he'd heard her wrong, "What?"

"Then you obviously don't need me," she repeated louder, telling him he had made no mistake, he had heard her right, "this talent show clearly means a lot to you, maybe it'd just all be easier without me, just go to the show with Sharpay, you don't need the little things such as me and your friends getting in your way, just do me a favour, enjoy your future, I'm sorry I won't be around to see it,"

She made a move to stand, wanting to get away from him, but felt him grip her waist as he pulled her back down, clinging onto her tightly.

"Please, don't say that," he begged, "none of it will be worth it if I don't have you, I'd do anything for you, you know I would,"

"Then why won't you do this," she cried, "I've never asked you to do anything for me, and when I do, it's too much for you to handle,"

"I'll talk to her," he gave in, "if it means that much to you I'll talk to her tomorrow, I'll tell her I know that I promised I'd sing with her, but I didn't promise that I'd sing in the talent show with her, she added that part before I got the chance to say no, if I had to choose between you and her, it'd be you without even thinking about it,"

"You promise?" she questioned, looking up at him, her eyes still tearful, though none were falling.

"I promise," he smiled, "but you gotta promise me something too, I need you to promise me that they'll be no more talk of you not being in my future, infact, I don't even want thoughts of that,"

He watched her as she nodded, shortly following that with a yawn.

"You need to sleep," he stated, standing and smiling as she lay down, "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early, I'm taking you to work,"

"Don't go," she asked him, "I don't want to be alone right now, can you at least stay until I'm asleep,"

"If that's what you want," he told her as he sat down on the floor next to her, "I'll stay,"

He watched as she slowly drifted off to sleep, twirling her hair around his fingers as he listened to her even breathing, slowly laying his head on the edge of her bead and falling asleep himself, oblivious to the adults still talking downstairs.

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ANNA sighed as she opened the door to her daughter's bedroom, her own parents right behind her, it was almost midnight, but they had insisted on speaking to the teen before they left.

"She's asleep," she pointed out to them as she smiled at the scene in front of her, noticing her parents' very different reaction.

"Who is the boy?" Marco demanded loudly, "You allow boys in her room?"

"Quiet," she whispered in reply, "you'll wake them,"

"Anna, this is very irresponsible," Sofia, decided, "she's a child, you don't want her ruining her life,"

"She's not stupid," Anna snapped, "and Troy loves her, you should see the way he looks at her,"

"Why would you allow your own child to have a boy in her room, she's still in school," Marco replied, shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

"I trust her," Anna explained, "neither of them are stupid, he wouldn't have came here unless she called him, she hardly ever calls him this late,"

"We were never this lenient with you," Sofia pointed out to her, "we wouldn't have allowed it,"

"And where did that get us mom?" Anna exclaimed, "it got me to parenthood at nineteen, us not speaking for seventeen years plus however long you're planning on freezing us out over this, you think I want that with her? I rebelled against you because you wouldn't let me do anything without your approval, excuse me for wanting my kid to at least like me,"

"You're fine now though," Marco studied, "you have a beautiful daughter, a wonderful house, this seems to be the only problem,"

"Yes dad," Anna agreed, "I'm fine now, but all this, I got it on my own, without your help, now, if you'll excuse me, I have pictures to take, I can't let them miss out on seeing themselves like this,"

She smiled as she picked up Gabriella's cell from the bedside table, and began taking pictures of the pair, the distance between them only just small enough for her to get them both in, she glanced back only once to check the reaction of her parents, but saw the back of their heads as they walked back downstairs, letting her enjoy the moment.

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**Review (five for next chapter)**


	17. Officially

**This was meant to be a Getting Through update night, but Getting Through is officially getting nowhere again, it turns my head to concrete (haha, writers block).**

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**NO UPDATES TO ANY STORY TOMORROW, I HAVE A SCHOOL THING.**

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**FILLER ALERT...FILLER ALERT...FILLER ALERT...FILLER ALERT... FILLER ALERT**

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The first thing Gabriella sensed when she woke up were the eyes watching her, but she knew she wasn't in any danger.

She opened her eyes, smiling as she spoke, "watching me sleep, stalker,"

Troy grinned in response; "if watching you sleep is stalking you, I'll be stalking you for the rest of my life,"

She rolled her eyes at the behaviour she expected from him before changing the subject, "you got here early,"

"I never left," he admitted sheepishly, "couldn't bear to drag myself away, I'd have been a whole four streets away after all, way too far,"

She smirked, "you're telling my mom that, you know,"

"Already did," he explained, "after she sent me the pictures, of course,"

"PICTURES!" Gabriella exclaimed a little too loudly, "She didn't,"

"About eight," he confirmed, "she thought it was cute, apparently your grandparents didn't agree,"

"I don't have grandparents," she sighed, "they disowned us, I don't know them, the only thing I have in common with them is blood,"

"Aren't you in the least curious?" he questioned, "Why would getting to know them be a bad thing?"

"I'm nothing to them," she stated confidently, "and they're nothing to me,"

"Liar," he accused, "you want to know more about them, it's obvious,"

"Just drop it, ok," she demanded as she stormed over to her wardrobe, "I have to get changed,"

He nodded and backed out of the room, sensing that she was upset; she clearly wasn't ready to deal with the subject of her grandparents.

He waited downstairs until she finally appeared, ready for the days work that was ahead of them, he smiled when he noticed she was nervous, knowing it was because of what he'd promised to say to Sharpay, the other girl was going to be mad, but that wasn't his problem, and he was determined to only let it become his problem if she blamed it on Gabriella.

He took hold of her hand as he led her towards his truck, determined to lighten the atmosphere, "you know, my parents are going to kill me for not calling them last night,"

"My mom probably called them," she pointed out, "damn it, she probably figured out that I was upset, I hide that from her, she needs me to hide it, everything's easier that way."

"No it's not," he decided, "not for you, you shouldn't bottle things up,"

"I can't," she smirked semi-seriously, "I ran out of bottles a long time ago,"

"Good," he replied, "now you have to tell me everything, because if you don't, all your pain and troubles will build up, and you'll explode, and then you'll be in a million little pieces, and then I'd have to go around the world and back to find them all and put you back together, because you're worth it, but, we could save all of that time by talking, so I think we should just try that."

He smiled as she giggled at his theory, making her laugh was his priority right now; she'd had enough pain to last two lifetimes.

"What if I can't tell you?" she questioned curiously, "if it's something that I'm not ready to tell you,"

"Then," he started, "I'll personally buy you some more bottles to bottle it up in,"

"Anything to stop me exploding, huh," she smiled as she noticed for the first time that the truck was moving.

"Exactly," he agreed, holding out something that was wrapped in foil, "your mom made brownies last night, eat,"

"Chocolate," she smirked, "for breakfast,"

"Just like beans on toast," he decided, "see, chocolate comes from the cocoa bean, making it a bean, and beans are breakfast food,"

"Excellent logic," she giggled again, " dad used to say that chocolate was healthy because it came from the cocoa bean when I was kid, mom was always complaining about it, she insisted that I was going to end up a chocoholic, and then she started making the brownies, and I did become a chocoholic."

"Finally," he sighed, "and explanation for your love of hot chocolate,"

She laughed before a comfortable silence fell over them.

"Troy?" she asked after a few minutes, "Do you think I should give my dad a chance?"

He sighed before glancing at her, "it has to be your decision, but I guess, if you do, and he turns out to be the same jerk he was when you were eleven, you'll be able to truthfully say that he hasn't changed, if you don't, you'll never find out, and you might end up regretting it,"

He watched as she clearly thought about his words, and could tell that she knew it made sense, but he still wasn't sure whether he wanted her to give the man that had nearly gotten her killed a chance, he didn't really deserve it, but if he said that and she came to regret not giving him a chance, she could come to resent him for stopping her, and he couldn't let that happen, he had to remain mutual on the issue.

"So I should talk to him?" she continued asking, "Let him explain before I send him away,"

"It's up to you," he repeated, "I can't make this decision for you, it wouldn't be fair, but whatever you decide, I'll back it up one hundred percent,"

"I think I'll talk to him," she finally decided, "only if you come though, I am in no way ready to face him alone, and my grandparents too, I need their side of the story, can you come there too, I guess I could always get Taylor to come when I see them, of course, I'd prefer it if you were there, but you might be busy or something, but then I could always…"

"Stop rambling," he smiled, "I'll be there, whenever you want to see any of them, I'd be there even if you didn't want me there,"

He watched her carefully as the smile that had appeared on her face disappeared as she gasped.

"Oh My God, we are so late, I can't afford to be this late, why didn't you wake me sooner?" She panicked, "I can't lose this job,"

"You're cute when you sleep, I couldn't bring myself to wake you," he explained calmly, "besides, I called Ryan from your cell, he said he'd tell Fulton he gave us the morning off because you had a family issue and needed me there for support, amazing what he'll do when you're involved,"

"He's just looking out for me," Gabriella smiled, "I think he feels a little guilty over what Sharpay's been doing, so he's trying to make up for it by being a good friend,"

"Or," Troy suggested, "He has a little crush on you, aww so cute,"

"And if sometime in the distant future I married him and you married Sharpay, we'd be in laws," Gabriella answered sarcastically.

"Sounds like a plan," Troy replied, "but it has problems, like the part where I'm with Sharpay, and you're with Ryan, I don't like those parts,"

"Feeling a little possessive are we," she smirked at him, "typical male,"

"You love it really," he told her, "that's why you like to be around me, you like to feel possessed,"

"Oh, so that's why you hang around with Sharpay," Gabriella grinned, "and there was me thinking it was for the in depth conversation,"

"The deepest she's gone is deciding on the colour of her nail polish," Troy rolled his eyes, "and she does not own me, I am my own person,"

"As much as I would love to discuss the whole owning others concept," Gabriella interrupted, "we are now officially at Lava Springs, we are also officially late for work and I am officially going to go stop people from drowning,"

"How very official of you," he replied as he parked his truck and watched her jump out quickly before he could grab her arm and keep her talking like her normally would, he opened the door, making sure she could hear as he called after her, "MEET ME IN THE KITCHEN DURING YOUR LUNCH BREAK, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE SAME BREAK FOR ONCE,"

He smiled as he watched her nod as she continued running, and walked casually in the direction she had gone after locking up.

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**That's it until Sunday unless I get something up on Wednesday or Thursday, I'm busy Friday and Saturday, movie marathon (including both HSM's and thunderbirds) on Friday and a TV marathon (including Greys Anatomy and Ghost Whisperer) on Saturday, the weekend after this, I am going to a book launch (my friend's mom's book which happens to have a character, Jasmine, based on me), so there may not be much then, but the week after, should be good, because as of this Friday, I am on my Easter break, which means no school, and I have no plans for the second and final week, so I can probably write for most of it.**

**If i do update on Wednesday or Thursday, it will probably have to be Impossible Perfection, i can't leave it on a cliffy that huge for too long.**

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**No ramble, because i figured that if i don't ramble Kerry actually reads the chapter, which is good because then she doesnt review about seaweed, although now i've said that she probably will.**

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**REVIEW ( 5 for next chapter, none about seaweed please)**


	18. Screaming Danger

**Wow, long time, no chapter, it's been almost two weeks, but I was concentrating on Impossible Perfection, and I wasn't even go**

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**Wow, long time, no chapter, it's been almost three weeks, but I was concentrating on Impossible Perfection, and I wasn't even good at concentrating on that, life got in the way, you gotta hate life sometimes, well, school life anyway.**

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**I actually discussed this chapter before I wrote it, to get a different opinion on it, I asked my sister, and, of course, Kerry, who seems to be mentioned so much in all of my authors notes. Anyway, the events that start at the end of this came from the alternative Impossible Perfection storyline, I decided to alter it a bit and write it into this story instead of make it a oneshot.**

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**This chapter is bad, trust me, it is, it seems a bit too rushed to me, I have no idea when I started it, it was at least a week ago, it took me long enough to get back to it, but my sister made me H2O obsessed, they had it on back to back all week, and my sister made me watch the first day, you can't help but get addicted to it, it is about mermaids after all, I'm wiccan, I have an interest in magical and mythical creatures (Wolves rule by far)**

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The scream was heard throughout the whole club, the scream that alerted one particular staff member that a promise had been fulfilled, a scream that made the same young girl smile.

She turned, casting her eyes over the pool again, watching for any signs that anyone was in difficulty, it was while surveying the swimmers below that she made eye contact with her father, the man had been hanging around all morning, and her decision to give him a chance to explain hadn't made seeing him easier like she thought it would, if anything it had made facing him harder, she didn't know what to expect from him, she didn't know if he meant anything that he said now, she didn't know whether the him she had experienced over the past days was the real him, or whether the true man was the drug addicted creep of six years ago.

She rolled her eyes as he smiled up at her, turning away from his gaze, smirking as she saw his head drop, he hurt her, and now it was her turn to hurt him.

She smiled as her watch alarm went off and made her way down the rocks, running inside to avoid having to exchange words with her father, she didn't know if even a few words with the man would wreck her lunch break, she'd talk to him after work, because her job demanded her full attention, she couldn't be worrying about him while on the job.

"You're here for food?" Chad questioned as she walked into the kitchen.

"Maybe," she replied, "depends on whether or not the food is in the kitchen,"

"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked, "Food is always in the kitchen,"

"Chad," she started, "you really have to stop taking everything I say seriously,"

"Since when were you not serious?" he quizzed, "you've always been serious, wait, you're happy, why are you so happy,"

"Life's good," she answered, "I managed to avoid Aaron, I talked things through with Troy and I've decided that it doesn't matter what my grandparents or my dad say, all that matters is me and my mom, and you guys of course,"

"You're lucky," he commented, "everything seems to be working out for you,"

She watched as he sighed before taking a wild guess, "Melissa still hanging around?"

"You know about Melissa?" he looked shocked, "I didn't tell you about Melissa, did Troy see her, did he tell you?"

"She's persistent, I'll give her that," Gabriella ignored his questions but giving in to his confused look, "She's friends with Sharpay, they gave Taylor and me hell the other day, didn't Taylor mention it?"

"No," he answered, "was she mad? Please don't tell me she was mad,"

"Relax," Gabriella smiled, "she was mad, but at Melissa, not you, she knows you wouldn't do that to her,"

"But she wouldn't answer my calls last night," he complained, "She has to be mad,"

"She was helping me with something last night," Gabriella admitted, "she wasn't answering her cell because my family were hell, I met my grandparents last night, Taylor took me there, she didn't answer because she wanted to be ready if I needed her,"

He nodded, accepting the explanation as Taylor herself walked in.

"Is everything ok?" she automatically asked, "you seemed pretty down when I dropped you off last night, and normally I always come in, you're ok, right?"

"I'm fine," Gabriella smiled, "my grandparents turned up after you left, but it's ok, mom didn't make me talk to them, although I'm going to, tonight, I'm on a suicide mission,"

"Sounds dangerous," Taylor smirked, "If you die, can I have your laptop?"

"Sure," her friend answered, "but seriously, I may need your help, they'll all kill me for this but I don't want to talk to them alone, I want to get my mom, my grandparents and Aaron in the same room, that way, they can talk out all their problems and figure out what actually happened, that way I don't have to hear three different stories, three versions of events,"

"Your mom will kill you," Taylor stated, "big time, from what you told me last night, she's not a big fan of her parents, or your dad for that matter, but then, who does like your dad?"

"His son, I'm guessing," Gabriella grinned, "Apparently I have a half-brother, Alex, I don't know the deal with Alex's mom, but I'm pretty sure he at least likes his father, but then, he's four, he'll grow out of it,"

"Just like you did," Taylor smirked, "I didn't know you could grow out of loving your parents until I met you,"

"You say that like I had a choice," Gabriella answered, "he left me, remember, I was eleven and he just left, mom was mad at him, but what did he expect, I could have died, she would have yelled she would have told him to get out but I can't help thinking how different things would have been if he'd of stayed, would things have worked out differently, would I have ended up never living here, never knowing you guys, and what if he'd never found us, we've moved around a lot in the past six years, what if he'd never found out that we'd come back to where mom grew up, to where I was born, none of this stressful stuff would have happened, and my life would be a whole lot easier, I wouldn't have to be thinking about talking to him, or to my grandparents, but now I do and it's all because he came back, I'd never have known about Alex and I could have lived with that, but I know, I know that I have a brother and I can't ignore that,"

"Gabi, calm down," Chad demanded, "you're ranting at like fifty miles a minute or something,"

"You can't rant in distances Chad," Taylor pointed out before turning back to her friend, "you have issues, serious issues, you have to go shopping, because all these issues are stressing you out, shopping is a great de-stressor,"

"Are you just looking for an excuse to shop, Tay?" Gabriella smiled, "because if you are it's working, shopping sounds good,"

"Hey," greeted a new voice, "sorry I'm late,"

"Dude," Chad replied, "you're timing is so off, they're talking about shopping, we should go you know, before they try and get us to go with them,"

"Better idea," Troy decided, "we split them up so this shopping talk ends,"

"We're not talking to you," Taylor informed them as she led Gabriella away.

"She's mad," Chad surveyed, "I think we made them mad,"

"Come on," Troy sighed as he followed the girls out, "trust me, they're not mad, and even if they are, they won't be for long, because them being mad would ruin things because everything is just perfect right now,"

"You're not gonna break into song are you?" Chad genuinely quizzed as they heard screams erupt from outside and quickened their pace. **(Sorry, had to be done, you have to admit, the singing is random)**

"Maybe," Troy answered as they reached the door, "but only if that…"

He stared at the sight in front of them, unable to see through the crowd, he watched as Kelsi ran up to them, obviously in a state of panic.

"Barbie, and Barbie's friend, just…" she coughed, watching them, "they just… well, they were in Barbie's golf cart…and they were heading right for them…they dived out the way…but she hit her head… I'm not sure she's breathing,"

"Who?" Both boys asked, frantically looking at the crowd behind her.

"They called… 911," The girl rushed as she ran past them towards the kitchen.

"Kelsi, who hit their head?" Troy called after her, but the girl didn't turn back, she was clearly too panicked to risk stopping and explaining everything to them.

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**I, being the cruel person that I am, have decided to leave it there, i know it's short, but it works as a cliffy, and i already had that Impossible Perfection cliffy, i needed one in this too.**

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**The review record so far is 16, and that's not just in this story, that's out of all my stories, but seeing as this story is the only one I have that I like right now, that's to be expected, so lets see if it can be beaten**


	19. Playing Dad

**This is the last chapter of this story until May, but of course, May is officially Making it right month so that month, this will be the only story I update, I'm trying to use the rest of this month to save my head from the Getting Through concrete block that it's in the process of turning in to, and no, I'm not going to use making it right ideas in Getting through, they are officially for this story only, some of them wouldn't work in any of my other stories anyway.**

**Anyways, time is short, and nobody has time to read the ramble (by that I mean I don't have time to write it), so let's get on with the story.**

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Both boys broke through the crowd, desperate to know what had happened, each attempting to convince himself that the girls were safe, while at the same time knowing that one of them wasn't.

The crowd parted as the scene unfolded in front of them, Sharpay arguing with her parents, clearly trying to make her excuses over the incident, trying to give them a good reason as to why she had tried to run down two girls, but, to the surprise of most people, this time, her parent's weren't caving, she wasn't going to get away with this, and those of the crowd who knew her brother, had already figured that he had something to do with it, knew that she must have told him of her plans, and he'd done something about it, even if it had turned out to be a little too late.

Troy looked over to the blonde boy, meeting his eye as he did and immediately making his way towards him as he noticed the girl whom the other boy had his arm around in a clearly unsuccessful gesture of comfort.

He reached them, pulling her into his own arms as he let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Thank God you're ok," he whispered quietly, loud enough for only them and the other boy to hear.

"Taylor's not so good," Ryan spoke up, showing with his eyes that it was, indeed, more serious than he was making it out to be, "I don't know what came over my sister, it's like she was…"

"YOUR SISTER COULD DIE FOR ALL I CARE," Troy shouted, clutching his girlfriend tighter to him before managing to keep himself calm after sensing her fear, "she could have killed one of the few things I live for, for all we know she could have killed Taylor, if I ever have the displeasure of seeing your precious sister's face again, it'll be too soon,"

He turned away from the other boy, leading her away as he saw another man sprinting towards them.

"Is she ok?" Aaron questioned, showing the side of him the he knew his daughter had needed all her life, and understanding that it had come a little too late, "please tell me she's ok,"

"As far as I can see," Troy told him, "she's fine, she's just, scared,"

"That girl," Aaron stated, "why would she do this?"

"She's always hated Gabriella," Troy told him, still holding on to his sobbing girlfriend, "because Gabriella has me, and Sharpay wants me, she's used to getting everything she wants, but she hasn't this time, and she hates that,"

"I should call Anna," Aaron decided, "I wonder how she'll manage to blame me for this,"

"This wasn't your fault," Troy pointed out, then snappily added, "for once,"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Aaron informed him as he got out his cell and took a few steps back in order to make the call.

"She can't die," Gabriella suddenly whispered, "I need her, she can't die,"

"She's not gonna die," Troy told her unsurely, thinking about how much trouble Sharpay would be in if Taylor did, indeed, die, "she's strong, she'll be ok,"

"She saved me," he heard her insist, "she pushed me out of the way, she saved me,"

He smiled weakly to himself, thinking of how typical it was for Taylor to think of others before herself.

"Your dad's calling your mom, she'll be here soon," he told her, "everything will be ok, I promise,"

"You can't promise that," she cried almost silently, before speaking up again, "where's Chad? I have to talk to him, I have to tell him what she did for me, so that when she's ok again, you can all help me thank her, because she saved me, I would have been hit,"

"Shhhhh," he soothed, looking over at her father, whom had now clearly gotten through to her mother.

He led her back towards the site where he had last seen his friend, immediately scanning the area and spotting the other boy with a look that mixed both shock and terror as he watched the paramedics treat Taylor.

Slowly he walked over to him, Gabriella still tightly in his arms, showing anyone in sight that he was unwilling to let go.

Chad turned as they approached, clearly sensing their presence.

"What if she dies?" he questioned Troy, "she can't die,"

"She's not gonna die," he insisted, "Gabriella has something to tell you,"

Chad glanced expectantly that the still shocked girl, intimidating her slightly.

"She saved me," Gabriella stuttered, "Taylor saved me; she pushed me out of the way, if it wasn't for her, I could have died,"

He nodded, "you think I should see if I can go with her?"

"Yeah, you should call her parents too," Troy, answered, "they should know what's going on,"

"Miss Montez," came a familiar voice from behind them.

They both turned to see Mr. Fulton standing there, watching them curiously, two police officers standing behind him.

"The police wish to speak to you," he stated, "because of your age, legally they have to have an adult present, as you have no family members here I have volunteered,"

She glanced up at Troy, both knew that Fulton would probably try and twist her words, after all, he pretty much worked for Sharpay while working for her parents, and he wouldn't want to risk losing his job.

"Actually," Troy remembered, "that's not necessary, her dad's here, he just went to call her mom,"

Fulton nodded nervously at the mention of a parent, whilst Gabriella weakly smiled in gratitude.

"Anna's on her way…" Aaron began as he spotted them and walked over, cutting off when he saw the three people with them, "is something wrong."

"They have to talk to Gabriella," Troy explained, and then turned to the officers, "this is her dad, and seeing as her mom isn't here, he's the only way you can talk to her,"

"Mr. Montez," one of the men spoke up, " we need to speak with your daughter over the incident that occurred around fifteen minutes ago,"

"I don't want you upsetting her," Aaron argued, "can it not wait, until tomorrow at least, she's just a kid,"

"A girl may die, Mr. Montez," the same man pointed out, "the sooner we speak to all witnesses, the better, you are welcome to sit in unless you are willing to allow us to speak to her alone,"

"No," Aaron refused, "you can talk to her, but not alone, I know what you people are like, you'll treat her like a criminal when really she's one of the victims in this, the girl was aiming for her, if you didn't know,"

The same officer nodded, not reacting to Aaron's comment, "follow me,"

Troy smiled reassuringly at Gabriella as she had Aaron followed the officers back into the club, knowing that it would be better if he waited out here to update Anna on what was happening when she arrived.

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**Wow, shortsomeness, the next chapter, may be the interview, or it may be Anna arriving at the club, or at the hospital, or, if I'm feeling courageous, and I'm not totally depressed, then all three of them, but this chapter will not be until May, because that is Making it right Month, although I might make it two months, as I have exams, and although they are boring, my life depends on them (I'm not kidding there, it actually does).**

**We went random today, and yes, it was my fault, me and the sour lemon sherberts, that were making people gag, and me laugh, tomorrow there is a teachers strike, so half of the teachers from my school won't be there, my year and the two years above us have to go in because of exams, the other two years (the ones below us), don't have any school, my year go home at lunch though, the two above are stuck there all day, but because we go home earlier, I have four lessons instead of five, three of which I have the same teacher for, and the teacher I have for three of these four lessons is on the strike, so basically I only have one actual lesson.**

**Anyways, I gotta go, because, I have to watch a DVD, and it has a title, its title is Greys Anatomy: The complete third season.**

**Ok, I've had the DVD's for a while now, and I've watched them all repeatedly before, but I want to watch them again, that is not strange.**

**Review everyone (see if you can beat seventeen, you have until may)**


	20. Interrogated

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It's officially making it right May.**

**This would have been up sooner, but I've been busy… watching Greys Anatomy… and the tribe… and ghost whisperer, but there is a chance that my TV addiction is now under control until next weekend, when there will be more GA and GW, I may also watch season one of the tribe, I finished season three like, an hour ago, one and three are the awesomest (yes I have created yet another word) seasons.**

**Anyways, let's get straight to the point.**

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Gabriella stared at the same spot on the wall as the two men shot questions at her, barely giving her time to respond to any of them, not that it would have made a difference, she'd barely said anything, and the only thing she had said was the same thing she had told her boyfriend outside.

She didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that they had decided to talk to her in the Lava Springs dining room, were they trying to make her relax in an attempt to get her to speak more, or was it the opposite, were they trying to make her feel uncomfortable under the watch of the CCTV cameras that she had noticed around the room soon after she had started working there.

"You do understand that your friend may die?" one of the men suddenly asked, making her turn to stare at him, after all, how could she not know what could happen?

"She saved me," Gabriella whispered again, "she can't die, she saved me,"

"Yes, we've already got past that," the same man sighed impatiently, glancing up at Aaron, "can't you make her say anything else,"

"That's always been what her mother's good at," Aaron commented, knowing that he couldn't do anything to change her reluctance to talk.

"Can you at least get in touch with her mother, we need her to talk," the second man explained, seeming a lot calmer than the first.

"I have already called her mother," Aaron replied, "For all I know Anna is here right now, waiting outside, you'd have to go and see for yourself though, I'm not leaving you alone with my daughter,"

"Haven't always been this protective, have you, Mr. Montez," the first officer spoke up again, "according to our records when she was eleven you nearly got her killed,"

"We all make mistakes," Aaron found it hard to hide the shock on his face, "that was one of the biggest I ever made, how is that relevant anyway?"

"You never know, Mr. Montez," the man continued, "Miss. Evans may have attacked your daughter and her friend through something that she didn't like about your child that your daughter acquired from you,"

"So what you're trying to say is," Aaron began, "that it's my fault some insane teenager tried to kill my daughter, well thanks for clearing that up for me, but I am hoping that you realise that I don't have to let you speak to her, I could take her out of here right now and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it, because if I don't give you permission to talk to her alone, and you're behaving to an extent that I don't want to deal with, I can just take her and leave, and then you won't get your statement,"

"That may be so, Mr. Montez," the first man spoke, "but then we will have very little chance of gaining a conviction, and I'm very sure that your daughter wants the person that almost killed her and may have killed her friend punished,"

"We could also just ask her mother," the second man pointed out, "she may even be more co-operative than you,"

"If you think that," Aaron smirked, "then you clearly don't know Anna, all Anna will want is her daughter home, and once she's home, you won't get near her, Anna's parents pretty much make Gabriella and herself untouchable, whether they are in contact or not, the Luise's are those sort of people, they have enough money to make their daughter and granddaughter disappear if they saw the need to, and if you upset Gabriella or Anna in any way, then that's exactly what they'll do,"

"Ahhh, rich kid," The first man smiled, "now we're getting somewhere,"

"I'm not rich," Gabriella, decided to put in, "my grandparents are, I don't know them, they didn't want me or my mom, I'm not rich,"

The three men in the room all turned to her, dissipating the confidence she had managed to build while her father had been arguing with them.

"What reason would Miss. Evans have to attack you and your friend?" the second man spoke, watching her calmly.

"I want my mom," Gabriella told them, "when can I see my mom?"

"Soon," the same man promised, "you can see your mom soon, we just need you to tell us what happened, then you can see your mom,"

"I need my mom," she cried, not bothering to wipe the tears, "please let me see her,"

The first man nodded to the second, whom stood and left the room.

"You want some water?" the remaining of the men questioned, "you have to calm down, this isn't going to help your friend,"

She shook her head, reluctant to meet anyone's eyes.

"Mommy's girl then," the man commented, "can't say I blame her, not after all the domestic abuse your file tells us about,"

"That is in the past," Aaron insisted, "my kids are my priority now,"

"I don't like mean that hit their wives, Mr. Montez," the man told him threateningly, "and I especially don't like men who threaten the lives of their children,"

"You're getting all of this from a six year old file," Aaron pointed out, "it's old, the person I was then, it isn't who I am anymore, and my history isn't relevant here,"

"That's exactly where you're wrong," the man answered, "it is completely relevant, we couldn't exactly let you in this interview without knowing exactly what kind of a man you are,"

Gabriella was relieved to hear the sound of the door open, knowing that this was about to get nasty, and that it would have been very likely to end up with Aaron in prison.

Aaron automatically stood up as Gabriella looked to the door to see her mother running towards her.

"You're ok?" Anna quizzed, hugging her tightly.

"I'm ok," Gabriella told her, "better than Taylor,"

"Poor girl," Anna commented, "but she's strong, she'll get through it,"

"I'll just go then," Aaron spoke up.

Anna turned to him, "yeah, you go, go right back to California where you belong, everything was fine before you came back,"

"I won't be far," Aaron stated as he left the room.

"You have to talk to them, sweetie," Anna encouraged, "they want to help, they're not the enemy here,"

Gabriella looked up at the two men sitting at the other side of the table, "she's never liked me, she already didn't like me the day she met me,"

"Have you given her any reason to dislike you?" the first man asked, clearly a lot less defensive now that Aaron had gone.

"She wants my boyfriend, but he doesn't want her," Gabriella elaborated, "she hates me because I have him, I guess she just decided to get rid of me, and Taylor got in the way,"

"Take us through what happened," the same man influence, "step by step, take your time,"

"We were talking in the kitchen, then me and Taylor went outside, I didn't see them, Taylor must have because she pushed me back, and I fell, when I sat up, she was on the floor, and there was blood, and Sharpay's golf cart had crashed nearby," the teen rushed, not really wanting to talk about it, "The next thing I remember is Ryan helping me up, taking me further away from Taylor, saying something about me not needing to see her like that,"

"Were you hurt in any way?" the second man decided to ask, knowing that if they had both been hurt it would have a bigger impact on the case.

Gabriella looked down at her throbbing wrist, knowing she had to say something, "when I fell, I landed on my wrist, I thought it was ok, it didn't hurt, but now…"

"Now it does," the first man finished, turning to the other, "delayed reaction, she was in too much shock to feel pain," **(is actually possible, major emotion can block out pain, no matter what said emotion is)**

"That'll have to be it for now, then," the second man explained, "you have to go and get that checked out, we'll be in touch,"

Anna nodded, standing up in unison with her daughter.

"Be careful out there," one of the men warned as the two left, "the girl is still out there with her parents and an officer, we were asked to speak to witnesses first, we don't know if three people will be enough to stop her from trying to attack you again, personally, I don't think she's stable,"

Anna nodded as she led her daughter out of the room and past Aaron, both ignoring him as they walked.

"You definitely ok?" Anna questioned her daughter as they got outside, "it's alright if you're not,"

"It hurts, mom," Gabriella admitted, "and I'm scared, where did Troy go?"

"I sent him to the hospital to check on Taylor," Anna explained, "they won't tell him much but I figured he'd be more use to everyone there, that way he could have kept us updated, but it looks like we have to go there ourselves now,"

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**I was actually hoping that this chapter would be longer, but that seems the perfect place to end it, and hey, it's longer than the last chapter, and seeing as this is making it right month, there shouldn't be that long until the next chapter, but of course, that all depends on reviews.**


	21. House arrest

**Omg, we got a new computer, and word is now weirdly fancy, and kind of confusing, loads of new buttons, fonts, heading types, and the background behind the page is blue instead of grey, it's all strange to me.**

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**The reason that this chapter wasn't up sooner is that i am working on Getting Through's replacement, as that story is almost finished, i'm not going to say much about it, as even the title may give away too much than i want to at this point, all i'll say is, i got the idea from the TITLE of a Ghost Whisperer episode, it has pretty much nothing to do with the episode.**

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"Mom, it's only a sprain," Gabriella complained as her mother continued to fuss, "the doctor said it'd be fine in a few days, i have to go and see Taylor,"

"She's still unconcious, what good will that do?" Anna questioned her daughter, "besides, you're going no where until i know for a fact that your wrist is completely healed,"

"So i'm under house arrest," Gabriella stated, "that is so unfair, it's like you're punishing me for something that someone else did, you are worrying way too much,"

"I can't ignore what's happened Gabi, you may be able to but i can't," Anna explained, "besides, i'm your mother, i'm meant to worry too much,"

"Mom?" Gabriella smirked, waiting until the older woman turned to her, "promise me i won't be like you when i'm older,"

"You will be," Anna insisted, "i think we can say it's a family thing,"

"If i agree with you that it's a family thing," Gabriella began, "can i go and see Taylor?"

"Nope," Anna refused, "you're staying right here, and don't think that just because i'm working you can go out, your grandparents are coming to make sure you don't go out,"

"Since when did i need a babysitter," Gabriella exclaimed, "and why them, of all the people i always thought they'd be the least likely candidates,"

"Gabriella," Anna sighed, "they're back in our lives now, Aaron was their problem not you, they want to know you, you can at least try and let them in,"

"Why?" Gabriella quizzed, "because it'll make your life easier?"

"They're our family, Gabi," Anna replied, "whether you like it or not,"

"You must be so happy that they're back in our lives," Gabriella commented, "more guards for this home prison thing your enforcing, stopping me from seeing my best friend, who could either wake up any second or die any second, how is that fair on me, i may never get another chance to see her,"

"It's for the best, Gabi," Anna insisted, "why don't you see if one of your friends can come over or something?"

"Yeah," Gabriella answered sarcastically, acting overly enthusiastic, "i'll call Taylor right now, oh wait, i can't, but i could go see her, if you'd let me,"

"There's no need for that tone," Anna told her, "you can go and see Taylor as soon as i feel that it's safe,"

"So going to the hopsital isn't safe," Gabriella shot back, "i'll remember that the next time i need emergency medical treatment,"

"Look, can we talk about this later?" Anna more ordered than asked as there was a knock on the door, "i really have to go,"

"Whatever," Gabriella sighed as the door opened, watching as her mother greeted her grandparents before speaking up, "we hope you enjoy your stay in my enforced prison,"

"She always this cheerful?" Marco questioned jokily, surveying his granddaughter.

"No, sometimes she can be more or even less cheerful," Anna replied, turning back to her daughter, "be good, and i was serious, see if one of your friends will come over, you're not going out,"

Anna rushed out the door, closing it behind her as her daughter and parents stood staring at eachother.

"So, do things like this happen often?" Sofia finally spoke up.

"Do you mean do people try to kill me often? Or am i under house arrest often?" Gabriella answered, "i can't say i'm used to either of them, although Aaron did nearly kill me when i was a kid, so i guess the people trying to kill me thing happens more than the house arrest,"

"No,no," Sofia denied, "i meant, do you and your mother argue often?"

"Nope," Gabriella admitted, "we only fight when she's keeping me locked up,"

Sofia nodded in reply, clearly not knowing what to say to the teen granddaughter she hardly knew.

"So," Marco picked up on his wife's nervousness, "what do you want to do?"

"I want to go and visit my friend in the hospital," Gabriella stated.

"Besides that?" Marco quizzed, "seeing as you're, as you put it, under house arrest,"

"I'll be upstairs," Gabriella commented, glancing at them once more before turning and heading up the steps.

"We'll call you for dinner, then," Sofia called after her.

As soon as she reached her room, Gabriella took out her cell, dialling the number of her one friend she knew wasn't currently at the hospital that her mother would be ok with her talking to.

"Hey Kels," she greeted when the phone was answered.

"I thought you'd be at the hospital," Kelsi commented, "i would if Fulton hadn't of made me work today,"

"I would if my mom hadn't put me under house arrest," Gabriella explained, "and it gets worse, she went to work, leaving my grandparents in charge,"

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Kelsi quizzed, "from what everyone said you don't actually know them, what harm will knowing them do?"

"I had it all planned out," Gabriella complained, "i was going to get them all in the same room, my parents, my grandparents, so they could all talk it out, i guess it didn't turn out that way,"

"Nothing ever happens the way you want it too," Kelsi decided, "how's your wrist?"

"Fine," Gabriella insisted, "not that my mom will accept that,"

"Are you coming back to work?" Kelsi quizzed, "it's really strange without you, Taylor and Chad here,"

"If my mom will let me," Gabriella told her, "and if i still have a job,"

"Of course you do," her friend answered, "they have no right to fire you, and Sharpay's parents have made her promise to stay away from you until after the trial at least, she's lucky you know, not many parents would pay bail for their kid after something like that, not many guys would sing with someone that tried to kill their girlfriend,"

"What?" Gabriella exclaimed, clearly shocked.

"Troy's still going to sing with her," Kelsi explained, "didn't he tell you?"

"No," Gabriella informed her, "he said nothing about it,"

"Well, i'm sure it doesn't mean anything," Kelsi tried, "it's got to be all for the scholarship, he hates her after all, but he really does need this scholarship,"

"Along with his head testing if he thought i'd be ok with it," Gabriella snapped, "he didn't even tell me, that just shows what he thinks of me, he must think i'm an idiot, and i must be for ever thinking that he could be trusted,"

"I really don't think he means anything by it," Kelsi defended him, "you're not an idiot, you know how he feels about you,"

"He's still singing with her!" Gabriella pointed out, "if he cared he wouldn't have even thought about that,"

"At least give him a chance to explain," Kelsi tried, "i'm sure he's just trying to find the right way to tell you, i don't think his not telling you reflects on his feelings for you in any way,"

"Kels," Gabriella sighed, "you're a great friend, and i know you're just looking out for me, but this, i have to deal with this on my own, i trusted him and he's pretty much just proved that i made a mistake by doing so, i don't see how he can even begin to make this up to me, not this,"

"When are you gonna talk to him?" Kelsi asked questioningly.

"I don't know," Gabriella admitted, "sometime, i guess, anyway, i should go, you know, spend time with my grandparents or something, for my mom's sake."

"Ok," Kelsi replied, listening for the familiar click that told her that her friend had hung up.

"Did she fall for it?" questioned a voice from behind her.

Slowly, Kelsi turned to face the other girl, "this is wrong, this isn't fair on either of them, she'll never forgive me for this,"

"If she ever finds out," the other girl snarled, "and by the time he tries to talk to her, it'll probably be too late anyway, she's already on loathing level when it comes to him, you've been very beneficial to me Kelsi,"

"You say that like i had a choice, Sharpay," Kelsi spat, "you'll get what's coming to you one day, and when that day comes, i'll be in the front row watching,"

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**Another short chapter, it's 1493 words to be precise, this new word has a random word count, i'm going to try and put atleast one more chapter up before the weekend, and hopefully one over the weekend, but no promises.**

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**As always, update rate depends on the reviews, so five for the next chapter, the more there is the higher that updating will become when it comes to my priorties.**


	22. Family and Friends

**Next chapter, I really can't be bothered with the authors notes right now, I'm serious tired and I've forgotten my veoh username, so I can't use veoh TV, which is making my life miserable, as I also can't get on the page where you can get it sent to you by email, I swear, fanficiton is the only website working on this computer right now apart from hotmail.**

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**On a brighter note, after tomorrow, I have no more school until september except for the exams I have to go in for.**

**I also got a review instructing me to behead Sharpay, an idea that had never actually crossed my mind, you reviewers put evil thoughts in my head.**

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**Anyways before I bore you half to death with how bad my life is right now, I'll just let you read.**

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"Everything Ok?" Sofia smiled, "you can always talk about it if not,"

"Why wouldn't everything be ok?" Gabriella snapped, knowing that she was taking everything out on the wrong person.

"I know you don't trust us," Sofia stated, "why should you, we've given you no reason to, you don't know us, but we want you to know us, we are family, after all,"

"My mom is the only family I have," Gabriella insisted, "I've never needed you, why would I need you now?"

"That's just it though," Sofia ignored the question, "you do need us, if you didn't you wouldn't be behaving like this, you'd be indifferent, the fact that your acting the way you are tells us that you need us, that you do care,"

"There's a lot of things I care about," Gabriella replied, "and you, you're pretty low on the list,"

"But I am on the list," Sofia answered, smiling infuriatingly, "it's a start,"

Gabriella watched as Sofia turned and headed towards the kitchen before turning in the opposite direction and walking into the living room.

"Came back down then?" she immediately heard Marco question.

She nodded, immediately sitting, swinging her legs over the arm of the chair as she set her cell down on the coffee table and picked up a magazine with her uninjured hand, aiming to annoy the seemingly snobbish man sitting in the room.

"How's school?" he tried to start a conversation, "you're mom tells us that your academically gifted,"

"When I can write," she told him, gesturing to her wrist, "seeing as my wrist is sprained, I can't right now,"

"So you're right handed," he pointed out, "see, we're getting to know eachother already,"

"If you say so," she sighed, still pretending to read the magazine.

"So," he continued, "are any of your friends coming round like your mother said they could?"

"Why don't you ask them?" Gabriella questioned, knowing that it was impossible for him to ask them, "I'm sure they'd love to hear from you,"

"Told them all about me then?" he joked, trying to break through the tense atmosphere.

"How could I?" Gabriella shot back, "I have nothing to tell them about you, not like I know you or anything,"

"All that will soon change," Marco decided, "family sticks together, after all,"

"Like you stuck with mom when she decided to marry Aaron?" she questioned spitefully.

"Ancient history," he told her, showing little emotion, "we're going to be a much stronger family without him,"

"And what if I want him around?" she asked, genuinely curious, "he is my dad, after all,"

"Then we have to respect that," he informed, "personally I feel that it would be the wrong decision but it is your choice to make, not mine, not Sofia's, and certainly not Anna's,"

"You think it's all so simple don't you," Gabriella snapped, "it's not, it's not as easy as you think it should be, Aaron has a son, I have a half brother, that stops it from being easy, why should I punish Alex for what Aaron did six years ago?"

"So you want to know your brother?" Marco quizzed, "he wouldn't miss you if you didn't, he may not even know that you exist,"

"If I don't know him," she started, "if I don't know him then I can't help him, and if Aaron hurts him and he can't come to me, I'd never forgive myself,"

"You're mother would have done the same," Marco commented understandingly, "as would Sofia and I,"

"So knowing Alex is the right thing?" she asked, not knowing why she cared for this stranger's opinion.

"Yes," Marco assured, "knowing your brother, letting him know he'll never be alone, it's the right thing to do,"

"I think I have to go to California to meet him," she explained, "I don't think I can, what if I get there and Aaron decided not to let me come back?"

"If Aaron really wants to know you," Marco answered, "then he'd bring his son here, he'd move his family here, he wouldn't want to unsettle you, even someone like him must know that you've been through enough already,"

"He doesn't know the half of it," Gabriella admitted, "he only knows the stuff that he's involved in, the stuff with my friends and school he doesn't know, I don't actually think he cares,"

"You never know with him, do you?" Marco asked, "he's always seemed unreadable, I guess it's just who he is,"

"For someone who hates him you seem to know a lot about him," Gabriella commented, "it's weird, I'm his daughter and I don't know that stuff,"

"I made knowing him inside out a priority," Marco explained, "ever since he met Anna, I wanted to know everything about him, to know if she was in any danger, she wasn't at first, but if I'd have known, if I'd have known that you were, I wouldn't have left you there, you have to know that."

"It doesn't matter now," she sighed, "there was no way you could have known, it wasn't your fault,"

"It wasn't your fault either," he pointed out, "you were just a child, it's more my fault than yours,"

"It's Aaron's fault, "she exclaimed, "it's the drink and drugs cocktail's fault, it's his dealers fault,"

Marco nodded in silent agreement, not wanting to continue a conversation that may upset her.

"You're cell phone's flashing," he told her, gesturing to it, "could be important,"

She picked it up, glancing at the screen to see who was calling before answering, "What?"

"Hey," came the voice on the other line, "how's my warrior princess,"

"You're not funny," she sighed, "did you call for a reason?"

"Um... Yeah," he spoke, clearly sensing that something was wrong, "I thought you'd want to know that Taylor's awake, but would it be so bad if I'd called just to hear your voice?"

"Thanks for telling me," she spoke blandly, trying to sound uncaring, "I'll let you get back to your rehearsal now,"

"Really?" she could just see him smirking, "and what exactly would I be rehearsing?"

"You know," she snapped coldly, "thanks for telling me about Taylor, I'm gonna go"

"Are you ok?" he asked, sounding confused, "has something happened that I should know about?"

"No, Troy," she replied, "there's absolutely nothing going on that you should or ever will know about, happy now?"

"No," he argued, "something's wrong, why won't you talk to me?"

"Because I can't talk to you right now, ok?" she insistently snapped.

"No," he repeated, "that's not ok, you promised me you'd tell me everything,"

"That was before," she told him, "I can't tell you anything,"

She hung up before he could answer, not really wanting to hear his excuses, turning to her grandfather, smiling.

"Taylor's woken up," she told him, "do you know when I'll be able to go and see her?"

"I can call your mom and see if it's ok for me to take you now," he suggested, "from what I've heard the girl did save your life, the least she's owed is a visit,"

Gabriella nodded and waited as Marco made the call, explaining the latest update to Anna.

As soon as he hung up he turned to her, "you want to go before or after dinner?"

"She said yes?" Gabriella asked in near disbelief.

"On the condition that we're not there long and we say hi for her," Marco elaborated, "so, now or later,"

"Now," Gabriella insisted, "I knew she'd be ok"

THIRTY minutes later Gabriella walked into the room she knew her friend was in.

"You took your time," Taylor complained as she saw her, "I've practically been in a coma for three days and you've only just got here,"

"Mom's had me under house arrest," Gabriella explained, giggling at her friends words, "she's over the top worrying right now,"

"You think yours is bad?" Taylor asked, "mine's barely letting me breathe by myself, anyone would think I'd drop dead if I took a breath on my own,"

"Do you know when they'll let you home?" Gabriella questioned, "it must be boring here,"

"You don't get bored when you're unconscious," Taylor joked, "and they don't tend to let you go home an hour after you come out of a coma,"

"I suppose not," Gabriella smiled, "that's probably not a bad thing,"

"Are you kidding me? I have to eat hospital food!" Taylor continued, "anyway, forget that, apart from the wrist that Chad told me about, you're ok?"

"Yeah," Gabriella lied, "I'm all good,"

"You never have been a good liar," Taylor answered, "spill,"

"Where did Chad go?" Gabriella tried, not really wanting to talk about her problems.

"Cafeteria, I made him," Taylor explained, "and stop trying to change the subject,"

"I'm fine, I promise," Gabriella answered before making a show of checking her watch, "I gotta go, my grampa's waiting, I'll try and get my mom to let me come by tomorrow,"

Taylor raised her eyebrows at the word grandpa, but decided to let it slide as Gabriella ducked out of the room, straight into another person.

"Hey," he greeted, wrapping his arms around her before she got the chance to back away as she looked up into his distinctive blue eyes, "you came to see her then? She was asking about you before, is everything ok? You seemed kinda off on the phone,"

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**My hand is killing me, Review, the more I get the more chance there is of an update or two this weekend, bearing in mind my exams start on Monday.**


	23. Perfect

**It's officially hit me, I don't go to school anymore, well, I do, but legally I don't have to, study leave is weird, and I actually want to go back now, but I didn't want to go in when it came to our exam earlier, I guess it's just the lessons and routine that I miss, how weird is that?**

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**Anyways, READ, it's good for you.**

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Gabriella looked up at him, knowing that he wouldn't just drop it at her request, knowing that listening to his excuses would make her automatically forgive him.

He was watching her expectantly, holding her securely in his tight embrace, clearly to ensure that she didn't run from him like she normally did.

"I'm fine," she lied, "just tired,"

"So you were snappy on the phone earlier because you're tired?"he smirked, "sorry, I'm not buying it, shall we try the truth? Or are we sticking to the tired thing, because if you decide to stick with tired, I'm going to have to permanently hold you until you talk, although, that's probably what you want,"

"I have to go," she insisted, unsuccessfully trying to pull away, "I have to go home, I promised my mom that we wouldn't be here long,"

"Then it seems you have two choices," he stated, "talk to me, or break your promise,"

"Troy, that's not fair," she argued, "I want to go home,"

"And I want you to talk," he told her, trying to remain calm, "I know something is wrong, what I don't know is what, and I know that it's something that you don't want to bring up, but it seems important, I get the feeling that if I don't make you tell me what's going on, then you'll run, and I'll never know, you have to understand that I can't let that happen,"

"I'm fine," she repeated, "I'm not ready to tell you,"

"I'm not letting go until you do," he explained, "it's too risky,"

"ok," she relented, "but not here, I don't want Taylor to know, she already hates you enough and..."

"So it is me," he spoke, "thought as much, what am I meant to have done?"

"Not here," she insisted.

He nodded, tightening his grip as he led her towards the parking lot, meeting Marco on the way.

"What's happened?" the immediately suspicious man questioned, "did you upset her?"

"I think so," Troy answered, "I don't know how yet, but she's agreed to tell me, it's something, right?"

"I have to take her home," Marco told him, ignoring his question, "I promised her mother and she's too vulnerable right now to be out for too long, especially here,"

"I guess I'll meet you there then, "Troy told them, finally releasing his girlfriend from his grip, as he reassured her, "everything will be fine,"

Gabriella sighed as she sat in her grandfathers car, turning to him as she felt him looking at her.

"Your mom was right," the man stated, "it's was in his eyes,"

"What was?" she questioned curiously.

"He loves you," Marco told her, "it's obvious, so obvious it's unbelievable,"

"He has a funny way of showing it," she replied, "how do I know I can trust him,"

"It's in his eyes," Marco repeated, "all you have to do is look deeply enough, learn how to read beneath what everyone else can see,"

"Did you do that with Aaron?" she quizzed, "did you give him a chance? Or did you automatically hate him because he was dating your daughter?"

"Aaron had a bad name," Marco explained, "everybody knew he and his family were a bunch of common criminals, their names were always in the paper, in police records, they didn't even try to hide it, they didn't care, we didn't want her near him, turns out we couldn't stop her,"

"I guess she's just stubborn," Gabriella sighed, "like me,"

"That's not a bad thing," Marco insisted, "being stubborn can mean independence, and that can never be a bad thing,"

"Isn't there such a thing as being too independent?" she quizzed, "I think I am, I never trust anyone, I don't like to let people in even though I know I should,"

"You didn't have the greatest of starts in life," Marco decided, "I don't blame you for not being able to trust anyone, you've been living under the pretence that your grandmother and I abandoned you, from what your mother told me, your father walked out on you when you were still a child, you've been moving around ever since you were little, none of it was fair to you but it still happened,"

"All that isn't important anymore," she replied, "it all sorted itself out in the end if you think about it, everyone came back, we stopped moving, and I was happy,"

"Was?" Marco asked.

"When dad came back, everything messed up," she elaborated, "I was fine, but then he turned up, and everything got complicated, I found out that I had a brother, and suddenly I had to make more decisions than I would have,"

"Aaron always had a habit of making life difficult," Marco commented, "but despite everything, I don't think he's here because he wants to upset you, he just wants to be your dad, just because I don't trust him, because your mother doesn't trust him, doesn't mean that you can't,"

"He left me," she pointed out, "I don't know how to get over something like that,"

"It just takes time," he told her, "sooner or later, trusting him will come natural to you, you'll trust him like you trust your mother, because no matter what he's done in the past, he's still your dad, and he didn't quite kill anyone, it'll always be possible for you to forgive him, all you have to do is let yourself,"

"But you won't," she answered, "you'll never forgive him, why's it different for me?"

"He's your dad," Marco smiled, "to me he's the man that took my little girl away, the man who put you in danger, that makes him my enemy, but my enemies don't have to be yours,"

"But after what he did, how can he not be my enemy?" she asked, "he's hurt me too many times,"

"We're not talking about Aaron anymore, are we," Marco sighed knowingly, "If it makes a difference, I don't think that this boyfriend of yours ever meant to hurt you, I think he's just one of those people that cares too much, and if you keep on shutting him out he'll start hovering, he'll make sure that you're always in his sight because he'll worry about losing you, just, let him love you, loving him back won't always be so hard,"

She turned around in the seat, looking out at the back window to her boyfriend driving right behind them, he smiled as he noticed her, his smile growing as she responded with her own.

She turned back to her grandfather, "you're right,"

"Always am," he smiled, " you will be too, it's in your genes,"

"Do you really think everything will be ok?" she questioned, "it doesn't seem that way now,"

"It'll all work out," he promised, "everything always does, in some way or another everything always works out, you have to believe that this will, I always believed that Sofia and I would get Anna back, and you helped us get that, I never expected you to be the reason we got her back in our lives, but things never turn out how you expect them to,"

"Your not the first person to tell me that today," she admitted, "my friend said it earlier, at least, I think she's my friend, I don't know anymore, not until I've talked to Troy, I guess I kind of jumped to conclusions again, I automatically believed what she told me earlier but she didn't prove it, and I didn't ask him when I should have, I just got mad,"

"Like Aaron would have done," Marco commented, "see, none of it's your fault, it's all my fault or Aaron's fault,"

"So no matter what happens, I can blame you or my dad?" Gabriella laughed, "I like that idea better than blaming myself,"

"You didn't blame yourself for Aaron leaving, did you?" Marco asked, "kids do that sometimes,"

"At first I did," she relented, "but then mom kept insisting that it wasn't my fault, and that if she and dad didn't blame me it couldn't be my fault, even though I didn't believe her at first, because he wasn't there and I thought that he blamed me, after a while, it started to make sense when she said it wasn't my fault,"

"She's right," Marco told her, "none of it was your fault, you're too perfect for it to be your fault,"

"You sound like Troy," she giggled, "he's always saying that I'm perfect,"

"It's because you are," Marco replied, "you were perfect when you were a baby, and you still are now,"

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**It's short again, I guess I still have longchapterphobia, plus there's the fact that I'm writing and revising at the same time, and that leaving it here makes sense , and that I was writing this chapter in my head while at my school leavers lunch on Friday.**

**OMG, I just added longchapterphobia to my computer's dictionary, I rule.**

**Review (6 for next chapter because I'm meant to be studying for exams)**


	24. Kidnapped

**This is a semi-long chapter, exciting times, it's not terrible in length like the others.**

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Gabriella sighed as she watched her boyfriend pace around the room, running a hand through his hair repeatedly as he moved.

Finally he turned to her, noticing her watching him, "are you sure you understood what she was telling you?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied, "she told me that you were still singing with Sharpay, what else could she have been saying?"

"But Kelsi," he exclaimed in disbelief continuing with his pacing, "Our friend Kelsi, why would she say something like that, especially when it's not true,"

"Why would she say that you're singing with her when you're not?" she quizzed, wondering why he hadn't already tried to clear that up already.

"I haven't spoken to Sharpay yet," he admitted, "I thought she'd have figured that after what she's done, I don't care if I ever see her again, does she really need me to tell her that I'm not singing with her? Isn't Kelsi smart enough to realise that I wouldn't even consider it,"

"Maybe she didn't know," Gabriella tried covering, "or maybe she was told that you were or whatever, I don't think she'd want to hurt us, I've jumped to enough conclusions in my lifetime, I can't just believe that she's out to get me like most people seem to be nowadays,"

"She still lied to you about me," he half-shouted, "she lied and she knows everything that's been happening between us over the past few weeks, I'm sick of people messing with us,"

"It wasn't lying if she thought it was the truth," Gabriella retorted, attempting to reason with him, "if she had no idea that it wasn't the truth then she couldn't have lied about it,"

Her insides squirmed uncomfortable as he fixed his almost furious gaze on her again, "How can you stay so calm?"

"One of us has too," she told him, "if we both lose it, neither of us stand a chance of getting the full story,"

He nodded, turning away again as he started retracing his steps repeatedly, not noticing how nervous his consistent pacing was making his girlfriend.

"It wasn't your fault," she spoke up after a while, continuing as he turned to her with a confused expression, "that I believed her, it was my dad's fault, because he abandoned me, and now I think that everyone will, and it was my fault, because I let myself believe it,"

He sat down next to her, pulling her into a hug as she tried to look away.

"Listen to me," he whispered, turning her head so she was facing him, "none of this is your fault, you believed her because you trusted her, she's your friend, why wouldn't you, that doesn't make it your fault,"

She nodded unconvincingly trying to show that she believed him, although she knew by now that words were just that, words, they weren't strong enough to convince her that nothing that had happened was her fault, she knew that it was too late for her to stop doubting herself, doubting those around her, and she hated the fact that she found trusting others hard, constantly wished that there was something she could do about that, but although she knew that she could get over her trust and abandonment issue's, she knew she couldn't get over them alone.

"I'm not going to leave you," he insisted, "no matter what happens, you're not getting rid of me,"

She nodded again, feeling unable to talk as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You have no idea how important you are to me," he commented, tightening his grip.

"I think I do," she smiled, "I just didn't realise I did before now,"

They sat in a comfortable silence until a sharp ringing interrupted their thoughts, making them sign in unison as Troy made a move to answer his cell, careful to check caller ID before he answered.

"What?" he questioned as he answered the phone, "I told you, I was visiting Taylor tonight,"

Gabriella heard the voice on the other end begin an almost endless rant as Troy mouth, "my dad," as he rolled his eyes.

"I did see Taylor, after that I decided to see my own girlfriend, you know, the one I haven't seen in a few days thanks to work and the constant evening basketball practices you're forcing on me," he explained, "No offence to Taylor, but I'd rather spend time with Gab,"

Jack continued to rant for the following minutes, before finally ending the call after failing to convince his son to return home for basketball practice.

"Won't he be mad?" Gabriella questioned her boyfriend, watching his facial expression to see if his face said different to what he did, "you hardly ever miss practice, and he hates it when you miss it because of me,"

"One day," Troy claimed, "he'll get it, and when he does, he'll regret ever trying to make me let you out of my sight,"

"You're going to have to, you know," she pointed out, "when my mom gets home from work at ten, she'll make you go home,"

"I'll just have to kidnap you then, won't I?" he joked.

"You wouldn't get the chance," she giggled, "there'll be three guards in this prison when she gets back,"

"Then it'll be like that escape from alcatraz," he claimed, "minus the home-made rafts and the San Francisco Bay,"

"And the criminals," Gabriella added, "neither of us are criminals,"

"I will be if I kidnap you," he pointed out, "I mean I guess I could always ask if I could kidnap you but then it wouldn't really be kidnapping,"

They both looked up as they heard a sound in the doorway, both stunned by the expression on Marco's face.

"Grandpa?" Gabriella questioned, suddenly curious as to what had bothered her elder relative.

"Don't ever let me hear you talking about that again," he demanded, "do not ever utter that word,"

"It was just a joke," Gabriella smiled, "he's not serious, he always says things like this,"

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Gabriella," Marco stated, "you'll understand when you find out, you'll understand why we protected her, why we should have protected you,"

"OK," She replied, not knowing what else to say, "we'll use other stupid theories,"

Marco nodded, turning as he walked upstairs, probably where he had been intending to go before overhearing their conversation.

"Weird," Troy commented, turning to Gabriella, "is he ok?"

"I don't know," she admitted, determination now coursing through her veins, "but he says I'll understand when I know, so I'm going to find out,"

He watched as she stood up, walking to the other side of the room as she picked up her laptop, "The internet can tell you anything, right?"

He nodded, moving across the room to sit by her as she sat down.

"How do you know what to look for though?" he asked, "he didn't exactly give any clues,"

"I know his name," she pointed out, "hopefully that will be enough,"

He nodded as he turned his gaze onto the screen, watching as she typed _Marco Luis _into the search engine and pressed enter.

"That helps," she sighed as uncountable results appeared on the screen, "i don't even know what i'm looking for, all that I know is that it really spooks him,"

Troy took the laptop from her, scanning down the list, looking for the particular word that had affected the man, wondering why she hadn't looked for it herself.

As soon as he spotted it he pointed it out to her, clicking on the link as he turned the screen.

"What could he possibly have to do with kidnapping?" she whispered, aiming to avoid her grandfather hearing her on the occasion that he came back downstairs.

He gestured for her to read as he too read the short newspaper article that had appeared on the screen.

_A dramatic turning point in the case of the missing Luis children came yesterday as the eight-year-old daughter of millionaire Marco Luis and his wife Sofia was found unharmed at some point in the evening. Anna Luis, whom has been missing for almost three months, was found walking the streets without her older brother, Michael Luis, sources confirmed yesterday. Both children disappeared in Mid-March while being cared for by an aunt as their parents worked away from home, it is not understood why Anna Luis was found without her brother, authorities fear the worst._

Troy looked over at Gabriella, knowing she would have finished reading before him and wanting some idea of her reaction.

The expression on her face showed pure shock as she muttered, "I have an uncle?", clearly unsure that it was the truth herself.

She raised her hand, scrolling down as she clicked another link under the heading Related Links and began skimming down the information page that appeared on the screen, following her lead, he too began to read.

_Michael Luis disappeared at the age of ten along with his younger sister Anna, 8, on March 16__th__ 1980 from his Aunt's home in Eastern Arizona. His parents, Marco and Sofia Luis, at the time of their disappearance, were out of state, attending a conference in New York, and had entrusted the children into the care of Sofia's sister, Maria. Following the disappearance of the children, a full scale investigation was launched and police were said to be dedicated to finding the children alive. A few days into the search a note was delivered to the home of Maria Compton demanding money for the safe return of both Luis children. It was official Michael and Anna Luis had been kidnapped._

_The letter gave a location in neighbouring state New Mexico, the home state of the Luis family, as the meeting point, where they claimed they would hand over the children in exchange for the money. The date and time of the exchange came and went, with no sign of the kidnappers or the children._

_After almost three months with no leads, on June 8__th__ 1980, police were stunned to find eight-year-old Anna Luis wandering the streets of Albuquerque alone, muttering consistently about her older brother._

_Police tried questioning the child about her brother's whereabouts and the people who took them, but the questions seemed to confuse the girl,whom appeared distraught and in a state of shock, but seemingly unharmed. All the girl ever said was, "we knew them from before, they were mommy's friends, they were good to us," _

_No links from the girl's worlds helped to find her brother, the Luis's had lost many friends over the years as they had devoted their life to their businesses and their children._

_To this day, Michael Luis has remained missing, no clue has been given which would show the fate of the ten year old boy that disappeared all those years ago._

"Are you ok?" Troy questioned, noticing that Gabriella was still staring intently at the screen, "I didn't think your family of everyone would keep this from you,"

She pointed at the family photograph on the screen, the picture showing her mother as a child, sitting with her parents and brother for what must have been mere minutes. Minutes that she should have been treasured, probably would have been if they'd known how much time they had left with their son. She marvelled at how happy they were, but felt tears pricking in her eyes as she thought about how soon after that picture was taken that Michael was gone for good.

"She never told me," Gabriella suddenly spoke up, "I thought she told me everything, but she never told me that she had a brother, that I had an uncle,"

"Maybe she didn't think it was important," he suggested, "they don't know where he is, they don't even know if he's alive, she probably didn't think it was something you needed to know, something that she needed to be reminded of, she may not even remember him, she was a kid, after all,"

"She can't have just forgotten her brother," Gabriella argued, knowing his thought that she could have was far-fetched, "she remembers him, she has too,"

"You going to ask her?" he questioned.

"What choice do I have?" she replied, "I've always believed that things happen because they are part of something bigger, I wouldn't have found out about this if I wasn't meant to do something about it, I have to find him Troy, I have to find my uncle, dead or alive, I have to find him so my mom and my grandparents know what happened to him, it doesn't matter that he's been missing for twenty-eight years, I still have to find him, no matter what,"

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**This chapter took me three days, which is quiet good for me, they normally take longer, and this one is longer than most of them, I'm weird when it comes to writing.**

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**I do have a bit more time though, seeing as I'm on Study Leave from School, I swear I've done everything but study (except for Maths, I need to revise that because I'm so unbelievably bad at it, and I actually don't think two hours a week is enough,) I'm way ahead on Impossible Perfection, I'll probably be writing the epilogue soon, but I won't be putting new chapters of that up until June because this is MAKING IT RIGHT MAY, and updating Impossible Perfection during it would make no sense at all.**

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**Bad news for Getting Through readers though, I'd saved the latest chapters I wrote in a different place because I hadn't put them up yet, then we got a new computer, ****and when I was copying things from one hardrive to the other, I forgot to move them to it, so I have every chapter of every one of my stories except the last chapters I wrote of Getting Through, which are now gone unless I go back to transfer again which would just take ages, and I'm mean to be revising, so I figured I'd just rewrite them and finish that story as soon as May is over, there won't be a sequel to Getting Through, because, basically, I'm getting bored of it, and I don't want to start another story that I know I won't have the drive to finish.**

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**Anyways, REVIEW!! (6 or 7 for each chapter) i'm off to get food.**


	25. Family Secrets

Gabriella sighed as she slammed her laptop closed and stood up, annoyed by the results of her search, she had stayed up all night trying to gain any clue as to what had happened to her uncle, but all she'd managed to do was learn more about him, which, she guessed, could be beneficial in her search, depending on how relevant it was now. Truthfully, she had no idea whether or not the small things that defined him when he was ten would still play a part in his life now.

"Honey, are you up?" she heard her mom call, "you have a visitor,"

She sighed again, the sharpness in her mother's voice told her who it was.

"YEAH," she rushed in reply, quickly applying make up in an attempt to hide the fact that she had been up all night.

Finally satisfied with her general appearance, she quickly rushed downstairs, tired but knowing that staying upstairs would worry her mother to a point where she would begin endless fussing.

"Hi," she heard Aaron greet as she reached the bottom of the steps, "how've you been?"

"Good I guess," she answered, "I'm still getting paid for a job I'm not doing because of my wrist, just guilt payments I guess, or maybe they're trying to get me to shut up about everything, but seeing as my friend could have died, that's not likely,"

"It's good that you're doing the right thing," he commented, "letting her get away with it could put others in danger,"

"So, why'd you come?" she quizzed, "we both know that it wasn't about the whole Sharpay thing,"

"There's a few people I want you to meet," he admitted, "after the accident..."

"Crime," she interrupted before gesturing for him to continue.

"After the incident," he continued, "I made a few calls, I got Tara to come down here, she understood why I had to stay and she wanted to meet you, she and Alex want to meet you, my brother came with them too, I told them I'd have to ask you, you don't have to of course, it's your choice, but, they're here and they want to meet you,"

"I'll meet them," she decided, asking herself if going out was really worth meeting her dad's family, she knew it was the only way that her mom would let her out, but something told her that she'd be better off at home researching, "when?"

"Well, it depends what you're doing, when you're busy," he ranted.

"I'm good now, if that's ok with them," she told him, "you'd have to check with mom too,"

"I already did," he admitted, "she said it's ok with her if it's ok with you,"

"So, where are they?" she asked.

"Tara and Alex are at the hotel, my brother went to town for something," Aaron explained, "I'm eighty percent sure that it's nothing illegal,"

"Not funny," she replied, "he's not really breaking the law is he,"

"No," Aaron replied, "he's probably the only one in my family, except you, Alex and Tara, that have never and most likely will never commit a crime,"

She nodded, picking up her bag from the floor, unsurprised to find it where she'd left it last night after returning from the hospital, "MOM, we're going out,"

"Don't keep her out late, I want her here by eight at the latest," Anna insisted as she appeared in the hallway addressing Aaron before turning towards her daughter, "you have your cell, call me if you want to be picked up,"

"Ok," Gabriella nodded in agreement, "I'll be back before then anyway, I have plans for this afternoon,"

"What did I tell you about going out?" Anna quizzed, sternly watching her daughter.

"I'm not going out mom," she defended, "everyone's coming round here, it's all arranged,"

Anna nodded, motioning for the pair to leave.

* * *

GABRIELLA gasped as she entered the hotel, knowing that it was one of the finest in all of Albuquerque, but never thinking that she'd ever set foot in it.

"You get over all the fancy stuff sooner or later," Aaron promised, "it's overwhelming at first but you get used to it,"

"Dad, how do you afford this?" she questioned, "I mean I knew you had money, you told me, but I didn't think that it'd stretch to this,"

She looked up when he didn't answer, furrowing her brow as she noticed his smile, "What?"

"You call me dad," he pointed out, "I haven't heard you say that in six years,"

"It is who you are," she responded, "unless you know something I don't,"

"You're being funny now?" he asked, "nervous?"

"A little," she admitted, "what if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," he insisted, "Alex already does and he's never met you,"

They continued to the suite in silence, opting to take the stairs over the elevator without discussing it beforehand.

Gabriella crossed her fingers behind her back as Aaron slid the key card into the door and it swung open.

"Tara," he called, "Alex, guys come on, this is no time for hide and seek,"

Gabriella followed him in, giggling as the four year old form of Alex bounded into the main room of the suite, jumping into his father's arms.

"We no play hide and seek daddy," the boy told him, "we play hide and seek with you,"

Aaron ruffled Alex's short, dark locks as he set him on the floor, "where's mommy, kiddo?"

"Making cookie," Alex grinned, looking straight past his father and to his sister, "my sister?"

"Yes, Alex," Aaron replied, "this is your sister, this is Gabriella,"

"Gabella," the boy announced, grabbing her hand a pulling her over to the couch, "play hide and seek and you count to five and I hide,"

"Alex, calm down, how about we play hide and seek after lunch?" A woman questioned from behind Gabriella, making her turn to notice a kitchen area behind her, "Hi, I'm Tara, Alex's mom, I don't know how much Aaron's told you about me, but he doesn't shut up about you,"

"I haven't been told much about anything," Gabriella explained, "Dad's been kind of evasive when it comes to the past six years,"

"I wanted to give the two of you something to talk about," Aaron defended, "I didn't tell either of you much about eachother so you can get to know eachother without my help,"

"Alex, how about we all have a grown up talk?" Tara questioned her son, whom immediately stood up.

"Come on Gabella," he sighed, "Mommy and Daddy have grown up talk,"

"No, no, no," Tara quickly rushed, "we all have a grown up talk, and you can ask lots of questions and answer some questions so we can all know eachother,"

"But I know you mommy," Alex commented, attempting to role his eyes, "you're mommy and daddy is daddy and Gabella is sister,"

Tara, Aaron and Gabriella all smiled at the boys simple description of who everyone was, knowing that at the age of four, Alex believed that he knew all he needed to about them.

"So," Tara smiled, "tell me everything, your dad tells me there's a boyfriend, what's he like? What are your friends like? How's school?"

"School's ok," Gabriella replied, "Me and mom used to move around a lot, so I never really got settled, but I did here, everyone's great, and I'm used to being here so it's normal, it's home,"

"That's what Aaron said when he first told me he was coming down here," Tara explained, "and I can see why, it's wonderful around here, it's places like these that make me wish I didn't live in California, although, you should come stay with us there some time, it's like guy central, it's how I met your dad,"

"I definitely don't think that my boyfriend would let me go then," Gabriella answered, "he's overprotective as it is, there's no way he'd let me go to California and hang around with a bunch of other guys, he and my mom would probably lock me in my room if I tried,"

"What's your mom like?" Tara asked, "Aaron doesn't mention her, I'm just guessing that it's because they don't get on,"

"Mom and Dad," Gabriella began, "they hate eachother, my grandparents don't like dad too much either, in fact with them, saying they hate him would be an understatement, mom's cool though, but you cannot tell her I said that, I always tell her she's not, but she's brilliant and work and she always makes time for me, I've never known a day where she hasn't been there when I woke up and when I went to sleep,"

Tara nodded, looking over at Alex disapprovingly as he attempted to rest his feet on the coffee table, and then to Aaron with the same manner, knowing that the child was trying to copy his father.

"Anyone would think we owned the place," she sighed, turning back to Gabriella, "although if you give it a few months Aaron will probably have brought it,"

"We can't live in a hotel, Tara," Aaron smirked, "I'm more interested in buying a house around here,"

"Is this about the whole, now Gabriella's back in your life you don't want to be a long distance dad thing," Tara answered, "I think I got that the last eight times you said it,"

"You were counting?" Aaron questioned, "you really do hang on my every word don't you,"

"Your father has an ego problem," Tara spoke, turning to Gabriella, "I don't know of anyone with an ego bigger than his,"

"I do," Gabriella revealed, "my boyfriend's ego is much bigger than dad's, he's always going on about how great he is,"

"Doesn't that get annoying?" Tara questioned, "Aaron's ego annoys me constantly,"

"Not really," Gabriella admitted, "once he's done talking himself up he starts going on about how great I am, and that does take him hours and does eventually get annoying, I'm just glad I'm not one of his basketball friends, they've told me that he doesn't shut up about me,"

"That's sweet," Tara smiled, "Isn't that sweet Aaron?"

"I think I need to talk to this boy," Aaron decided, watching his daughter, "I'll use the interrogation I came up with when you were seven,"

"Dad," she warned, "you know he hates you,"

"That's not going to get him out of the interrogation," Aaron answered, "you're a child, it's my duty as your father,"

"Dad, you and him in the same room could end in a punch up," Gabriella pointed out, "is it really worth it? Besides, Grandpa already did talk to him, when we got home from the hospital yesterday, I have no idea what he said but Troy told me that he was a nutter,"

"Marco is a nutter," Aaron stated, "he has all that money and nothing to spend it on, why doesn't he just give it to charity?"

"He could use it to find Michael," Gabriella blurted out without thinking, before quickly covering up her mouth with her hand.

"Find who?" Aaron quizzed.

"No one," Gabriella tried, trying to read in her father's expression whether or not he knew who Michael was, "I'm just having a strange day,"

Aaron nodded, showing no recognition that he knew the name, before turning as the door to the hotel room opened.

"Bro, seriously, Alex could have ran straight out of that door," the man whom had entered spoke, "you gotta be more careful,"

Gabriella studied this new man, noting his short dark hair and distinctive eyes, eyes that she recognized, but didn't know where from. He looked to be in his late thirties to early forties, but nothing really gave away his age.

"Gabriella," Aaron smiled, "this is my brother Max, Max, this is Gabriella, my daughter,"

"I don't remember her," Max told his brother, "if you'd have had a kid before Alex, you'd think I'd have known them,"

"You were away, studying in France," Aaron reminded him, "I thought mom and dad told you about her,"

"Nope," Max replied, turning to Gabriella, "Who's your mother?"

"Anna Montez," she answered, "used to be Luis before she married dad, she never changed it back when they divorced,"

"Luis," Max contemplated, "strange name, it's weird, I thought I knew of all Aaron's girlfriends, I've never heard of your mother,"

"Max here likes to think he's an expert on my life, "Aaron explained, "he doesn't know much really though,"

"I resent that," Max decided, still watching the teenager as she regarded him carefully, as their eyes met he mouthed something to her, something she didn't catch..

He sighed, walking towards the kitchen, closely followed by Aaron as Tara engaged the girl in conversation.

"Daughter?" he asked, regarding Aaron curiously, "since when did you have a daughter?"

"Since around 1991," Aaron smirked, "it's when she was born,"

"Anna Luis," Max argued, "of everyone, you have a kid with Anna, from what I remember, she couldn't have been more than a kid herself,"

"Look, Gabriella thinks that you have no idea who Anna is," Aaron snapped, "let's keep it that way,"

"What if she wants me to meet her mom," Max pointed out, "you know that Anna hates me, your kid will hate me too if she finds out that I lied about knowing her mother,"

"You make excuses, do anything to stop yourself from seeing her," Aaron rushed, "she doesn't need to know Max, she doesn't need to know anything about the past,"

"And what if she already does?" Max asked, "then what? She can't know what I did to her mother, but if she already knows something, and if she's anything like Anna, she'll find out,"

"She doesn't know anything," Aaron stated, "she's been kept in the dark about it all,"

"How can you be sure?"Max quizzed, "how do you know what she's been told?"

"I asked Anna, Max," Aaron replied impatiently, "I asked Anna if she'd told her, she hadn't said anything, I'd know if she was lying, I know her too well,"

"Marco and Sofia," Max rushed, "what have they told her?"

"Anna and Gabriella haven't been in contact with Marco and Sofia since Gabriella was a few months old," Aaron explained, "they can't possibly have told her anything,"

"If she does find out, she'll stop at nothing to find him," Max pointed out, "it's who Anna was, and it's clearly who your daughter is, what happens if she finds him?"

"Max," Aaron sighed, "it's impossible to find a man that doesn't exist,"

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**It's been long, too long, but I'm on half term now, I still have it even though I am on study leave, which means as they are out of school, I have no exams, which should mean more updates, but I'm me, so you never know.**

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**Review (five or six or the next chapter)**


	26. Rationalization

**As of now Making it right month is officially over, which means I can get back in impossible perfection, and hitting my head against a wall in an attempt to gain ideas to finish Getting Through.**

**I have doctor who on the brain right now, it was on earlier and was completely awesome, so I can't write tonight, and I wouldn't usually put this up until the next chapter is written, but if I write, it'll come across sci-fi and they may end up time travelling, so I think I'll wait till I've come down from this doctor who high, left the biggest library in the universe (it's still stuck in my head) and have cleared my head to the state it needs to be in for me to write anything half-decent, even though I'll just be going back there next Saturday.**

* * *

Gabriella sighed as she unlocked the front door, unsurprised by how exhausting her younger brother had been. She had been glad to get out of there as the boy continued insisting on constant board games and endless hide and seek.

"Mom I'm..." she cut off as she saw a man sitting on the living room couch, approaching him cautiously as he turned to her, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Dan," he replied, "I'm a friend of your mother's,"

"What kind of friend?" she quizzed, sensing that she already knew the answer.

"We're very close," he smiled, "come sit,"

"I can't," she answered, glaring at her mother as she entered the room, "I have plans,"

"Gabriella," Anna greeted, "I didn't think you'd be back for a while,"

"Clearly," Gabriella shot back, "you wanted me to come back later too, right?"

"Don't get mad at me for having a life," Anna sighed, "Gabi, you know I'm not a nun, you're a big girl, don't act like a baby over the fact that I have a boyfriend, you have one yourself,"

"I'm not mad about the fact that you have a boyfriend," Gabriella snapped, "I'm mad that you didn't tell me, you always used to tell me everything, I guess things change,"

She turned around and headed straight upstairs, despite her mother's protests as she went.

"It's probably better that she knows," Dan tried as she disappeared, "we don't have to sneak around anymore,"

"You don't know her," Anna pointed out, "she's been through too much already, I was going to tell her when things calmed down, I couldn't tell her right now, she's got too much to deal with, I didn't want her to find out like that,"

"She'll be fine," Dan assured, "like you said, she's not a baby anymore,"

Anna nodded sceptically as the doorbell rang, "I'll go and get that,"

She walked through the open door into the hallway, swinging the door open before checking who it was, having a rough idea already.

"Hey kids," she smiled falsely, "she's in her room, go on up,"

She watched as the group walked past her and up the stairs without a word, the way most of them normally behaved around her through lack of being in her presence.

* * *

"Little sis," Chad exclaimed as he burst into Gabriella's room.

"Do you ever knock?" she questioned, slightly annoyed, "what if I was naked?"

"Troy would have killed me," Chad smirked, frowning as Martha hit him, "what was that for?"

"Just because Taylor isn't here, doesn't mean you can be inappropriate," the girl scolded, hitting him again as he opened his mouth to comment, "Taylor will get a tell all if you say one more word,"

Chad immediately closed his mouth, searching for signs as to whether Martha was telling the truth or not.

Jason laughed at the two's interaction as Kelsi followed him into the room, "dude, she will so tell,"

"No she won't," Chad grinned, "cos she loves me,"

"Delusional," Gabriella spoke up, "next you'll be saying that my stepmother loves you,"

"Is she hot?" he replied, laughing at the look of disgust that appeared on Gabriella's face.

"Chad," Troy began, "why did you just ask my girlfriend if her stepmother is hot?"

"She might be," he defended, "and she'd love me, every female on the planet loves me,"

"What planet?" Kelsi asked, "It's sure not this one,"

"You love me, don't ya Gab?" Chad quizzed, "don't try denying it,"

"I love you as much as any girl loves her brother," Gabriella answered, "I don't love you in the way you're saying everyone does,"

"Told ya she loves me," Chad smirked triumphantly, purposely turning to Kelsi and Martha, "and you do too,"

"You're an idiot," Troy decided, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend, "you ok?"

"I'm good," she lied, still angry at her mother on the inside, "I met Alex today,"

"Your brother Alex?" he asked, continuing as she nodded, "cool, was he as annoying as most little kids?"

"Surprisingly no," she smiled, noticing that the others had gone if into their own conversations, "he was hyperactive, but not quite annoying,"

"So everything with them was good?" he asked, "no trouble with your dad's family?"

"His brother was a bit weird," she admitted, "he kept staring at me like I was interfering with his life or something, and he kept having these whispered conversations with dad and gesturing to me, he didn't even know I existed, which is weird in itself, but he made me feel like I was an inconvenience and kept asking when I was leaving,"

"So your dad has one dodgy relative," he assured, "all families have them, with me it's my uncle Kev, he' a embarrassment to say the least, and he calls me Roy, which is just plain weird,"

She laughed as he told her more about his uncle, knowing that it was an attempt to make her forget about whatever was troubling her.

They both looked up as Kelsi approached them, surprised by the sudden distraction from their conversation.

"I'm sorry," the girl spoke, directing her statement at Gabriella, "Sharpay was with me, and she made me say it, she knows something that I'd rather didn't get out, I don't know how she found out but she was blackmailing me, she said if I told you that stuff, then she'd forget what she knew, I only did it because I didn't think you'd believe it,"

"I did," Gabriella sighed, "which was stupid of me, I should have known she'd have been involved somewhere, but I never thought that you said it to hurt me, I know you're not like that, I guess it's good that I know why you said it now,"

"Why would you do anything for her?" Troy asked, "after the way she's always treated you, who cares if she knows some secret about you, if she was blackmailing you that makes her a bad person, by lying for her, you made yourself almost as bad, she wouldn't have told anyone whatever it is, because if she did, she wouldn't have been able to use it against you again,"

Kelsi nodded, knowing he was right, as she turned round and walked back to the others.

"I told you she had a reason," Gabriella smiled, "I was right, you were wrong, balance has been restored,"

"Of course you were right," he replied, "Warrior Princesses have to be right, it helps them to save the world,"

"Are you ever going to drop that?" she quizzed.

"Nope," he told her, "it fits,warrior princess came home from the battle of Lava Springs,"

"You are so annoying," she commented, "I nearly got hit by a golf cart, it's hardly a battle,"

"Warrior princess denies battle was a battle," he smirked, laughing at the face she made, "so modest, take credit for something,"

"This is getting old," she tried, not thinking about what she was saying as she continued "can we talk about my mom's boyfriend instead?"

"Warrior princess's mother has a..." he cut himself off, "Your mom has a boyfriend!"

"Yeah, and she didn't tell me," Gabriella sighed, mentally scolding herself for bringing it up, "i found out when I got home earlier to find him sitting in our Living room,"

"Doesn't your mom tell you everything?" he asked, "you and her are close,"

"I thought she told me everything," Gabriella told him, "I guess I was wrong. Why wouldn't she tell me about him? It's not a big deal, it just hurts that she didn't tell me,"

"She must have had her reasons," he sighed, stroking her hair, "maybe she didn't want to upset you,"

"Why would my mother having a life other than me upset me?" she questioned, "I'm not as weak as you all seem to think I am,"

"I don't think you're weak," he attempted to calm her down, "you're just sensitive, and a lot has happened,"

"Too much for her to tell me about her boyfriend?" Gabriella exclaimed, suddenly aware that the rest of her friends were not listening to the conversation, "she's my mother, I'm meant to be able to trust her, she's meant to be able to trust me, she obviously doesn't,"

"You're reading too much into this," Troy insisted, "she does trust you, she probably just didn't want you to have something else to stress over, considering everything that's happened recently,"

"Why are you defending her?" Gabriella quizzed, "did you know? Did you agree that she shouldn't tell me?"

"No, I didn't know," he told her, "I just think that you should talk to her before you freeze her out, get her side of the story, then she can't accuse you of being irrational,"

She nodded, knowing that what he was saying made complete sense, noticing that they were both ignoring the others, it wasn't just her, "I'll talk to her later, when this Dan guy's gone,"

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**Short, boring, it's more of a filler really, which is a shame because I wanted Making it right May to go out with a bang, but it didn't work out that way.**

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**My exams start up again on Monday, which means less time to write, and I actually have to revise because my first exams are subjects I'm not particularly great at, I'm good at Tech if I have it in my head, so that needs to be the last thing I read tomorrow night, Maths I'm hopeless at, so that's tomorrow taken up.**

**Review, it really has to be six or seven for the next chapter now because of revision, and I checked the stats, if I had as many reviews as I did hits, this story would have thousands of reviews by now, it's good to know that it's being read but having a few more people review would be better, especially during my exams when I need all the inspiration I can get (most of my inspiration is coming from Charmed right now, which is kind of strange and will make my stories go all magical if it doesn't stop.)**

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**Good luck for anyone else taking exams at this time (for example, Kerry, I know she is, because she's in most of mine)**


	27. Violent?

**It's been one month since I last updated this, I'm a bad person, i'm sorry, I was just so harassed with my exams and now i'm stressed because my exams are over and I don't know how I did and I still don't know how to finish Getting Through, I need ideas, because chapters of Making it Right and Impossible Perfection will be scarce until I finish that seeing as it's meant to end first, which is good for the readers of 2016 because that's officially my longest running story (started something like 11 months ago) and I need to end that soon.**

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**If the next chapter, there will be a list, it's an exciting list, which you may find out more about in my next oneshot.**

**A warning: Gabriella's going to be acting like a bit of a bitch over the next few chapters, it's all part of my master plan, so don't worry.**

**Anyways, the latest chapter of Making it Right.**

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"It's not that I didn't want to tell you," Anna excused as her daughter came downstairs, "it just wasn't the right time,"

"When would have been the right time, mom?" Gabriella snapped, "At the wedding? After the honeymoon?"

"I didn't say I was going to marry him," Anna pointed out.

"That's besides the point," her daughter exclaimed, "you didn't tell me,"

"I would have told you when all this chaos was over," Anna tried, "I didn't want to give you something else to deal with,"

"Dad and Alex are chaos?" Gabriella shot back, "My grandparents are chaos? Or is it just me that's chaos?"

"I didn't say that," Anna defended, "don't put words in my mouth, you know what I meant,"

"Why can't you just drop that?" her daughter asked, "it's in the past, i'm ok, I just want to forget it but no one will seem to let me,"

"Someone trying to kill you isn't easy for me to forget," Anna stated, "Everyday, Gabi, everyday I feel like killing that girl myself for ever trying to hurt you, but I can't because it's not what you need, I gave up everything to have you when I was still a kid myself, and right now you're being incredibly ungrateful, trying to deny me just one thing that's solely for me,"

"If I was such a problem for you in your life," Gabriella told her, "you should have just got rid of me,"

"I didn't mean it like that," Anna sighed as her daughter turned on her heel and ran upstairs, "GABRIELLA,"

Gabriella ignored her mother as she slammed her bedroom door to the sound of her ringing cell phone. She picked it up, smiling at the name on caller ID.

"Petals fallen off yet?" she greeted as she answered it.

"That was cruel," the person answered, "you move, we don't speak in like, eight months and now you're being cruel to me,"

"Like always," Gabriella pointed out, "i'm sorry I didn't call, I just got so busy with my new school and everything,"

"Chill Brie," came a reply, "I didn't call either, but Matt's been bugging me for updates, he wants to know what's up with you,"

"Ignore him Violet, what I do is none of Matt's business," Gabriella commented, "he broke up with me over a year ago, last May to be precise,"

"I know, I know," Violet sighed, "i'm just saying that he keeps asking about you,"

"Vi, did you really call me to talk about Matt?" Gabriella quizzed, "because if that's the case I have better things I could be doing,"

"What's better than talking to me?" Violet replied, making Gabriella picture her childish smirk, "i do rule, after all,"

"Vi," Gabriella whined, "I don't want to talk about Matt,"

"Good," Violet decided, "because we're not going to, we're going to talk about what a bad friend you are,"

"Only if we can talk about how bad you are too," Gabriella told her, "i'm not the only one that didn't call,"

"I'm an awesome friend and you know it," Violet insisted, "I am reuniting the whole gang after all,"

"What do you mean?" Gabriella questioned, smiling at her old friend's attitude.

"Jessica, Connor, Milo, Hannah, Kayla, Ty, they're all here, listening to you right now," her friend explained, "they think i'm a better friend than you,"

"We do not," argued another voice, a voice Gabriella knew belonged to Kayla, "stop lying to her Vi,"

"Hi guys," Gabriella greeted the others, glad for the small fact that they were distracting eachother as she fought a mental battle in her head through both guilt and upset over the words she had spoken to her mom, "how is everything?"

"We don't want to hear about here, Gab, we want to hear about that stupid place you abandoned us for," chimed Connor's voice, "Where was that again?"

"Albuquerque," Gabriella relented immediately, speaking in unison with Hannah and Jessica.

"Is that at the other end of the world?" Violet piped up, "sound's like a foreign name,"

"It's in New Mexico," Gabriella explained, "so no, it's not at the other end of the world,"

"IT'S IN MEXICO!" Violet and Connor exclaimed together, "No wonder you didn't call, aren't they all poor down there,"

"Ok, one, not everyone in Mexico is poor," Hannah began.

"And she said New Mexico, not Mexico," Jessica continued, "That's a state,"

"Can you two stop being blonde and let Brie speak," Violet requested, "stop talking smarty babble that's so clearly wrong, everyone knows that Mexico is a country in it's own right,"

"NEW Mexico," Gabriella repeated, emphasising the new, "It's a state,"

"Albuquerque,Vi, doesn't that sound like the place mom said we're going to in two weeks" Ty finally spoke up, "remember, mom and dad were talking about it yesterday,"

"You guys are coming here?" Gabriella rushed, "since when?"

"Mom could have said Albuquerque anyway," Ty commented, "I would check, but I can't be bothered,"

"Then don't," Gabriella smiled, "Vi, find out and call me later,"

"I might," Violet replied, "might not,"

"Violet Pansy Forest you will call me or I will call your cell so much that you throw it against a wall," Gabriella threatened, "now tell me, how's the valley?"

"Dry," Milo shouted in the background, "we need rain,"

"Says the boy that always complains about the rain," Hannah contradicted him, "you can never win with him,"

"Gabi," Gabriella turned as she heard the voice at her bedroom door, "Gabi, can we at least talk about this,"

"Is that your mom?" Violet quizzed, "tell her you can't talk to her because you're talking to me and I rule,"

"Yeah," Gabriella answered sarcastically, "because I can really see my mom agreeing with that,"

"Your mom loves me," Violet decided, "everyone loves me,"

"You remind me of Chad," Gabriella informed her, "you both think everyone loves you,"

"Who's Chad?" Violet interrogated, "boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend's best friend," Gabriella corrected as her mom continued trying to speak to her through the closed door, "I'll tell you more about everyone when you call back later, I'll give you my new IM then too, I have to go,"

"You always have to go," Kayla commented as the rest of the group joined in complaining.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go and fight with my mom," Gabriella explained, "Vi, and probably Ty, I'll talk to you later, everyone else, bye,"

She hung up and slipped her cell phone in her pocket without giving the group a chance to complain again, suddenly remembering the year she spent living in the San Fernando Valley that had ended before the last Christmas, the friends she had made there were her first real friends, and she'd hated to leave them. Glendale City had been the first place she had really considered home since leaving Albuquerque the first time, and the East of the Valley was where she found all of her friends.

She hadn't known then just how close she was to where her father lived, she had a pretty much carefree life, just her, her mom and her friends to worry about, and, of course, Matt, but that's a whole different story altogether.

She swung open the door to reveal her mother's face etching both anger and concern simultaneously.

"What?" Gabriella asked snappily, "I was on the phone,"

"To who?" Anna questioned, "your friends have just left it wouldn't have been them,"

"My past," Gabriella informed her mother coldly before walking past her and heading downstairs.

Anna followed behind her, not sure how to react to her daughter's sudden attitude.

She stopped short as her daughter reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to face her.

"What else are you hiding from me mom?" Gabriella questioned, resentment still in her voice, "your boyfriend, your brother, what else?"

"How do you know about Michael?" Anna demanded, making her way to her daughter and grasping her shoulders, "who told you about him?"

"Nobody told me," Gabriella fought, trying to pull out of her mother's tight grip, "mom you're hurting me,"

"You hurt me earlier," Anna pointed out, attempting to create empathy, if her daughter knew how this behaviour was making her feel, it could stop her from acting out, "you hurt me when you said I should have got rid of you,"

"You should of," Gabriella retorted, wincing in pain as Anna's grip tightened in anger.

"Tell me the truth," Anna demanded, "TELL ME,"

"Let go of me," Gabriella ordered, watching Anna shake her head in denial, neither noticing the unlocked front door open, "Let go of me now,"

"Gabi you forgot you..." Aaron cut off sharply as soon as he saw the scene in front of him, "What the hell are you doing to her?"

Anna immediately released her daughter, watching her run into the arms of her father as she cried tears that only a mother would know were fake.

"You should have heard her," Anna tried explaining, "the things she said,"

"No excuses, that's what you said to me, Anna," Aaron interrupted turning to Gabriella, "it's ok sweetie, daddy's here now,"

"Gabi," Anna whispered, trying to get the teen's attention, "I went too far I know and i'm sorry, but you can't act like that, you can't speak like that,"

"Leave her alone," Aaron insisted, believing that his daughter was really crying, "hasn't she been through enough,"

"She's my daughter," Anna argued, "you weren't here, you don't know what happened,"

"I saw you hurt her, that's enough for me," Aaron insisted, turning to Gabriella once again, "you want to come and stay with me, Tara and Alex for a while?"

Anna felt tears in her own eyes as her daughter nodded.

"You can't just take her," the woman protested, "she's my daughter,"

"You hurt her," Aaron repeated not looking up as he spoke to his daughter again, this time in a whisper than Anna couldn't hear, "we'll come back tomorrow when she's at work to get some of your things,"

All Anna could do was watch her ex-husband lead their daughter out of the door, out from where she knew her only child was safe, she was only sure of one thing : she had to get her daughter back, because the things Gabriella didn't know about Aaron could be the things that were most dangerous to her.

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**I know it's short again (although it's longer than the last chapter), but I have more time on my hands now, so I'll try and make chapters longer unless I really feel that**** t****hey should be left at a certain point, like I did with this one.**

**Aaron's secrets won't all be revealed at once, but the plan is to reveal one of the bigger ones first, because I kind of want to end a certain aspect soon.**

**Bitchy Gabriella is not here to stay, but will be like that for a few chapters at least, mainly because I feel like writing that way and luckily for me it fits into this story.**

**Anyways, REVIEW, 6 or 7 for the next chapter, because i'm lazy, and have without a trace episodes to watch.**


	28. Back to Work

**Ok, I****'m back, singing Oliver songs, because my musical obsession has returned at full force. Although I still can't believe that Grease got the number one spot in the 100 best musicals. Compared to the likes of The Sound Of Music, Annie and Oliver, Grease is terrible, how could it get number one when there are other musicals that are so much better. Don't get me wrong, I think Grease is ok, but it's not the best.**

**Ok, I'm going to leave my musical rant for now, or it would be never ending, and you would get bored with all musicals, I really do go on about them that much.**

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**As promised, the list of likes (compiled by me and my younger sister), shorter than it would be because It's in categories**

**1. TV shows - Ghost Whisperer (There's ghosts in it), Greys Anatomy(Watch it, it's scientific), Charmed (Cool magical powers and hot guys), Gilmore Girls (Funny fast talking), Criminal Minds (Crimes and Blood), Without a Trace (Missing people, unpredictable endings), Cold Case (Old crimes and blood), CSI(more crimes and blood), Eastenders(People with lives so bad it makes everyone else's look good), Emmerdale(There's sheep in it), Coronation Street(See Eastenders) , Neighbours(We all wish our neighbours were this exciting, Doctor Who (ALIENS), Primeval(ANOMOLIES AND FREAKISH CREATURES), Hannah Montana, The Suite Life, iCarly, H2O(KIDS SHOWS)**

**2. Musicals - The Hsm's (obviously) , RENT, Mamma Mia!, South Pacific, Annie, Oliver, The Sound Of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bugsy Malone, Mary Poppins.**

**3. Music - Soundtracks of Musicals, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Busted, Mcfly, Stephanie McIntosh, Taylor Swift, Steps, Jesse McCartney, Rogue Traders, S Club, Avril Lavinge, Jennifer Love Hewitt, loads more**

**4. Movies - Walk the Line (is the line straight?), Just Like Heaven not quite heaven though), Sweet Home Alabama(awwww), Seeing Double (S Club, duh), War Of The Worlds (ALIENS), The Craft (WITCHES), Mean Girls (Something that rhymes with witches), Confessions of a teenage drama queen(I'm a drama queen), The Homeward Bound series(Cute animals, childhood favourite), Thunderbirds (cos I'm sad), Paulie (cos I'm sadder), To live for(Cos it's a true story) , Our mother's murder(OMG HORROR), The Narnia's (Magical Kingsom), The Harry Potter's(OMG, MAGIC SCHOOL), Music and Lyrics(Because it's awesome), Hide and Seek(MORE HORROR), Daddy Day care(funniness), Daddy Day Camp (MORE FUNNINESS), Cheaper by the dozen(both, cos they're random), Your's mine and ours(YOU PAINTED THE PIG)**

**5. Animal loves - Cats (I HAVE TWO), Dogs (GO BARK), Horses(EAT GRASS), Sheep(GO BAA AND GIVE US WOOL)**

**6. Words the make me laugh - Cheese (it's like the moon), Sheep(WOOL), Cupboard( it's the way Laura says it), Mushrooms(because of Cymonn's story)**

**That wasn't even a page long, it was about nine pages before I edited it! I'm glad I got it over with, it was booorrrrrinnggg.**

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**All of last chapters reviewers were awesome, anyways I have decided, that I need to have more fics to read, so I have decided that I will read a story of everyone that reviews this chapter.**

**Ok, because of the last chapter's awesome reviewers, here's the next chapter…**

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Gabriella sighed as she walked into the kitchen at Lava Springs, swinging her now healed wrist my her side as she instinctively checked it, wondering whether going back to work so soon was a good idea, especially without her mother's agreement. It had been hard, not talking to her for just over a week, the pair had never gone without speaking for that long before, sure they'd had their fights, but never had they slept on it, each of them had made an effort to avoid that, but now they had, and she felt a little guilty, her mom didn't deserve to be treated the way she was, and Gabriella knew that her mother was a good parent, a hell of a lot better than her dad, yet she couldn't help but wonder why, out of all the people in her life, she had ended up running to him, she'd ruled out his circumstantial appearance at her house the day she left, the day she last spoke to her mom, she hadn't felt at all threatened by the older woman, her mother would never intentionally hurt her, but she'd acted like her safety was threatened and clung to her dad. She didn't understand her behaviour herself, and, for the most of it, felt ashamed, but that didn't mean she knew how to stop.

"You're back?" Chad questioned, running over to her, "So soon?"

"Would I be here if I wasn't back?" Gabriella snapped, "don't be so stupid, Chad,"

"What's up with you?" He asked curiously, unperturbed by her manner, "You seem, weird,"

"You always seem weird," She stated, "No one ever asks you about it,"

"Ok," He sighed, "What's happened? Who upset you?"

Gabriella glared at him before pushing past, throwing unnecessary final words over her shoulder, "Some of us actually have jobs to do,"

She stalked outside, immediately taking up her position by the pool, avoiding everyone that tried to speak to her, smiling as she saw her dad, with Tara and Alex in two, heading towards the area.

In truth, Tara annoyed Gabriella, being friends with her step-mother wasn't high on her priority list, but Tara was acting like a friendly relationship between the pair was critical for everyone. The teen couldn't grasp how someone in their early thirties could still be as self-centred, especially when said person had a four year old relying on her.

"ELLA," Tara squeaked out excitedly as she saw her, oblivious as Gabriella rolled her eyes before turning towards her and forcing a smile.

"Hey," she shouted back, mocking happiness, "What are you guy's doing here?"

Slowly she made her way down the rocks around the pool, meeting her dad's family at the bottom.

"Am I not allowed to see how my daughter's doing?" Her dad spoke up when she reached them, "Now that she's back at work, just because I disapprove, you don't need to work, I'm paying for college, it's been decided,"

"Dad," Gabriella complained, "I want to work, to take my mind off of things, you know,"

"I know," he admitted, "Doesn't mean I have to like it,"

"I have to work," She pointed out, "I can't really talk,"

"Lunch?" He questioned, "They are giving you a lunch break, right?"

"Yes dad," She assured, "They are giving me a lunch break,"

"She won't want to spend it with us, Aaron," Tara smiled, "She'll be with her friends over her lunch break, won't you?"

"I don't know," Gabriella answered, "I guess I could meet you for lunch, you should meet some of my friends anyway,"

"I have," Aaron pointed out, "They don't like me,"

"You haven't formally met them," She explained, "And now I'm technically living with you, you really need to get to know them,"

"You mean, get to know the boyfriend," He corrected, "The one I have to interrogate, you have to bring him,"

"Only if you promise not to ask him questions," She shot back, "Otherwise he doesn't come, you'll scare him off,"

"That's pretty much the aim," Aaron contemplated, Tara hitting him on the arm.

"Don't tease her, that's not nice," Tara commented before turning to Gabriella, "I'll make sure he says nothing, we can talk about him later anyway, can't we?"

Gabriella nodded, forcing a smile again, wondering if this woman really did believe that she was going to reveal every aspect of her personal life to her, there was no way she was going to talk about Troy with her step-mother, it was weird.

"Will Uncle Max be there tonight?" Gabriella asked, referring to the newfound uncle that had been at the hotel with them on a regular basis.

"He's coming for dinner," Aaron relinquished, "Like always, he can't cook you see,"

Gabriella nodded, "I should really get back to work,"

She quickly turned round, returning to her position overlooking the water, double checking everyone was safe as she considered the distraction her family had caused.

Screaming children were splashing around as their parents lounged by the poolside, paying no attention to them at all, clearly deciding that the safety of their own kids wasn't their problem while their was a lifeguard on duty, not that Gabriella was surprised by this, most of the parents at the place were experts at off-loading responsibility.

GABRIELLA sighed in relief as her watch alarm sounded, alerting her to the start of her lunch break. She made her way down to her family, who were still sitting at the edge of the pool.

Alex bounded over to her as she approached, gripping her hand as he pulled her towards their dad and his mom.

"LUNCH," he announced to them when they were standing as a group, "MOMMY, I WANT ICKEN,"

"I'll just go and get changed," Gabriella informed them, leaving as she sped inside.

She gasped in shock as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind as she entered the building, relaxing when she heard the voice, "I heard you were back,"

She walked out of his grip, motioning for him to follow her without looking at him, "I wasn't going to stay away forever,"

"I missed you," he told her, "where have you been all week?"

"Dad's," she admitted, "I'm kind of living there now, can I explain this later, I'm meant to be meeting dad, Tara and Alex for lunch,"

"I knew you were living with him, but honestly, I don't see you for a week," he sighed, "and you're spending your lunch break with your dad, who you've seen every day for that week,"

"You can come," she smiled, "if you insist,"

"Well, if it's the only way, to spend time with you," He smirked, wrapping his arms around her again, "we need more you and me time, though,"

"You have to get to know my dad," she pointed out, "if you really want to, we could skip out early,"

"Sound's perfect," he relented, "You'll explain the whole living with him thing later?"

"Promise," she agreed, "I'll give you a tell all exclusive,"

"What about why you were a bitch to Chad earlier?" he questioned, "am I going to get a reason for that, or are we going to act like it didn't happen for a few weeks?"

"I wasn't," she defended, "Do you honestly believe that I would be?"

"I don't know," he replied before admitting, "I spoke to your mom, from the way she said you'd been acting, and from what she told me you'd done, I don't know what to believe about you, what happened, you would never have said that stuff to your mom before, what changed? Was it the thing with Sharpay? Your uncle? Tell me what's going on, I can't help you if you don't,"

"Nothing's wrong, Troy," she grumbled, "I'm fine, you're imagining things,"

He waited outside as she changed, following her again after mere minutes as she came out.

"What, you're not gonna talk to me now?" he asked, "real mature,"

"I have nothing to say," she decided, "you clearly don't trust me,"

"I never said I didn't trust you," he argued, "don't put words in my mouth, I do trust you, I just want to know what's up,"

"Nothing's up," she insisted, calming down a bit, "You really need to stop worrying so much,"

"As long as you stop jumping to conclusions," he bargained, "Do we have a deal?"

She rolled her eyes before nodding and grasping his hand, "Did I mention that Dad's paying?"

"We get free lunch," he pointed out, "he doesn't have to,"

"He doesn't know that," she smirked, "and he does owe me after all these years,"

"He'd probably take you out for dinner every night if he knew you got lunch for free," Troy pondered, "It's better he doesn't know, gives me a chance of stealing you away from him in the evenings, say tonight, after work,"

"I might be able to fit you in," she teased, "depends what you're planning,"

"If I'm remembering correctly," he began, "we have a one on one game that we never got round to finishing, so I'm going to have to insist that we finish it soon,"

"That started in April," she stated, "isn't it a little too late to finish it,"

"Scared you'll lose," he taunted as her family came in sight, "you could always forfeit,"

"No chance," she retorted, " I'll be there,"

"Loser buy's dinner," he decided, "Can't let you go hungry can I?"

"Are you suggesting that you're going to lose?" she asked, "accepting what we know is going to happen?"

"No, no, no," he denied, "I'm going to win, I'm just going to be there to make sure you eat the dinner that you're paying for,"

"No chance," she replied as they reached the three others, "Hi,"

"GABELLA," Alex shouted, turning to his mom, "FOOD NOW,"

Troy stifled a laugh at the four year olds excitement over the prospect of food as he wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist after she let go of his hand.

"Dad, Troy's coming too," Gabriella told him, stating rather than asking, knowing that her father wouldn't refuse because of the guilt he still felt, "Are you sure it's ok, food here can be expensive,"

"It's fine," Aaron smiled, "It's only the five of us, and I can afford it, you know that,"

"Yeah," she replied, quickly glancing up at Tara before turning back to her dad, "I won't be at dinner tonight, we're going out,"

He nodded, "You need any money?"

"No," she decided, looking up at her boyfriend, "We have a sort of competition going on, loser's buying dinner, but we all know that I'm not going to lose,"

"You sure about that?" Troy answered, smirking at her, "you think you can beat me,"

"I know I can," she insisted, "blindfolded,"

"You two are just too cute," Tara commented, "Aren't they cute Aaron?"

"Cute," Aaron agreed in order to humour his wife, it couldn't have been more clear that he didn't agree as he eyed his daughter's boyfriend, taking in the semi-scruffy appearance.

"So," Gabriella started, "Are we going or not?"

"We're going," The man confirmed, picking up his young son as he began leading the way into the dining room, Tara following close behind.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Gabriella reminded Troy, "and we can always leave if dad get's too much,"

"I'm looking forward to it," he smirked, following the others.

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**Without the authors notes, this chapter is around five pages, which is good for me I guess, but still not good enough, especially if you compare it to the last impossible perfection chapter.**

**Anyways, I have to watch Greys Anatomy, for the reason in the list and the fact that it's totally awesome, so, review, around six for the next chapter.**


	29. Home

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Disclaimer: As well as not owning High School Musical, i also don't own A little princess, but if you want to buy me them i won't stop you, but seeing as you're more likely to buy them for yourselves, i'll just forget that.

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I was going to put this up tomorrow, but seeing as we're all going to be dead by then (LOL, not likely) because of some science experiment, I figured it'd be better for me to put it up now, or we'd die, and you'd never get the chance to read it, which would be terrible.

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**It's not as long as it would have been, as I can only use my brain for a certain amount of time each day, or it'll explode.**

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"So, is it good being back?" Aaron questioned his daughter as they ate, "they're not working you too hard?"

"It's fine, dad," Gabriella answered, shifting slightly as she felt her boyfriends hand brush her knee, looking up to see him smirking at her, "honestly,"

"No one's given you any trouble?" he asked, watching her respond by shaking her head as he continued, "You'd tell me if anyone was?"

She nodded, continuing to eat, before looking up at him, "I might call mom tonight,"

"You sure?" Aaron questioned, "you haven't spoken to her since..."

"I know," she interrupted, "but I want to talk to her, she's my mom,"

"I get that," he relented, "she'll miss you, I guess,"

Gabriella gulped as her father turned to her boyfriend, setting what was meant to be an intimidating glare on him.

"Troy," Aaron spoke, not moving his glare, "what plans do you have for the future?"

Gabriella looked back at her boyfriend, her nerves growing at the almost unreadable smirk that appeared on his face as he replied, "Well after the baby's born we were going to find a college that we could both excel in, stay together for the kid's sake, you know,"

Gabriella bit her lip to stop herself laughing, looking over at her father to see his now pale face as he muttered, "baby?"

"Yeah," Troy continued, "We were thinking we'd call it pineapple, naming kids after fruits is all the rage, Ow! What was that for? Don't you like the name?"

"Dad' i'm not, he's trying to be funny," she explained, "not funny, Troy,"

"I found it funny," he pouted, "you could have at least played along for a little while,"

"No," she insisted, "you need comedy lessons,"

"I don't like you," Aaron finally evaluated the teen boy, eyeing him warily, "Gabi, I don't want you to see him anymore,"

"Dad," she complained, "it was a joke, and he wouldn't pressure me into anything, ever, daddy please, you don't know him,"

"I don't like you either," Troy informed him, "but I'll let you know that I intend to keep on seeing your daughter, with or without your permission, because you're nothing to me, why would I listen to a deadbeat dad who can't take a joke,"

He stood up, holding out a hand to his girlfriend, "you coming?"

Gabriella momentarily glanced over at her father before taking his hand, "bye dad,"

She looked up at her boyfriend's smiling face as they ran off, him leading her away out of the dining room and towards the kitchen.

"Hey," Chad greeted as he saw them, watching Gabriella warily, "You still mad at me?"

"I was mad at you?" she questioned, genuinely confused.

"I figured with what happened this morning that..." he began.

"Oh," she interrupted, "no I wasn't mad, I just haven't had the best of weeks,"

"Want me to beat anyone up?" he asked hopefully, "all ya gotta do is ask,"

"No," she insisted, "and i'm sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have said that stuff,"

"You get away with it," he decided, "cos you're the baby of the group, and we all have to look after you,"

"Troy, the old person is scaring me," she joked, acting on his comment, "and he called me a baby,"

"Dude, only i'm allowed to call her baby," Troy defended, "seeing as you call her your sister, you calling her baby would be weird,"

"Didn't I use the word baby in a different way?" he questioned, "i'm not that weird,"

"You did," Gabriella assured, "Troy's just being possessive,"

"I own you?" Troy asked her, "nice to know that,"

"You do not own me," she argued, "I did not say that,"

"You implied it," he claimed, " that means, if I tell you to get back to work, or go back to your mom's, you have to, I think this power may go to my head a little, but we can work around that,"

"You do not own me," she repeated, "and I resent that you're saying you do,"

"but..." he began, stopping at the look on her face as she stubbornly turned away from him, immediately wrapping his arms around her from behind, "I'm kidding,"

"I know," she answered, rolling her eyes slightly as she stuck her tongue out, "so am I,"

"Good," he replied, turning her around, "I don't like it when you're mad at me, even if you are just pretending,"

"It's because he's whipped," Chad commented.

"I am not," Troy fought, "my life is just easier when she's not refusing to talk to me,"

"Dude, you so are," his friend claimed, "you do whatever she says, when she tells you to, that's whipped, majorly whipped,"

"Guys," Gabriella spoke up, "still here you know,"

"Of course he still knew," Chad commented, laughing slightly as both of his friends rolled their eyes, "I'm surprised he noticed that i'm here, no one else gets a look in whether you're here or not, you see, when you're here, he basically ignores us, and when you're not here, he doesn't shut up about you, infact, I think I know more about you than I know about Taylor,"

"Aww, that's so sweet," she cooed, facing her boyfriend as she grinned, "You don't stop talking about me?"

"Stop talking about you," Chad started in continuance, "If he runs out of things to say he'll start repeating himself,"

"Thanks for that," Troy sighed, watching the smirk on his girlfriend's face grow, "I'm never gonna hear the end of this am I?"

"You might," she answered, "Let me see, what don't you know about me, you're going to need more to tell them all when i'm not around,"

"You mean there's stuff he doesn't know about you!" Chad exclaimed, "But he doesn't stop talking, there can't be anything he doesn't know,"

"I'll think of something," she smiled in reply, "something else for him to annoy you with,"

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"HOW?" he quizzed, watching his smirking girlfriend as she approached him, basketball under her arm, "How did you beat me?"

"It's cos i'm brilliant," Gabriella grinned, passing the ball to him as she stopped a metre away, "like you always say, Troy,"

"That's a fact you consistently prove right," he agreed, "Is being perfect hard?"

"I'm not perfect," she refused, "far from it, you have met my family, right?"

"Just because your family aren't doesn't mean that you're not," he decided, "You're perfect, a perfect little angel,"

"I'm not little," she argued playfully, "You're just too tall,"

"You are little," he replied, "a little princess,"

"That's a movie," she pointed out, "Are you saying i'm a movie,"

"If you were in movies, " he explained, "I'd be at the theatre a hell of a lot more,"

"You would say that," she told him, "what if I decided that I didn't believe you?"

"Why wouldn't you believe me?" he answered, "One good reason,"

"Because," she began, "you lied to me,"

"I didn't," he defended, "I swear, I'd never lie to you, who said I lied,"

"You did lie," she repeated, nodding in emphasis, "You said you were going to win this game, and you lost, because you're a loser, but it's ok, because being a loser is good, as long as you try, which you did,"

"You really are loving this victory aren't you?" he quizzed, relaxing at her words, "you won't win again, this was a one off,"

"You know why else you're a liar?" she questioned, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Why?" he answered, himself smiling at the look on her face.

"You said," she stated, "that the loser buys dinner, you can't buy dinner at your place, that leaves going out, so us still being here proves that you're a liar,"

"Am I still a liar if we leave now?" he asked, stepping closer to her as he tossed the ball into the basket, "or are you never going to believe me again,"

"Leaving now's good," she relented, still smirking, "where are we going?"

"Out for dinner," he evaded, grabbing her hand as he led her inside and through the house, "that was the plan,"

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GABRIELLA sighed as she swiped the key card in the hotel room door, impatient as it opened, she'd decided not to visit her mother that night, not being sure what to expect made her nervous.

Slowly she walked into the first room, looking around for signs of her father's family, seeing only her uncle she sat down, looking aver at him as she noticed him watching her.

"Where is everybody?" she finally asked, her eyes not leaving his.

"Alex is asleep, your dad and Tara are out looking for you," he explained nonchalantly, "It's late, apparently they were worried,"

"Why apparently?" she asked in confusion, "Uncle Max, they were either worried or they weren't,"

"Don't call me that," he stated a little defensively, "don't call me that when they're not here, i'm not Max,"

"I don't get it," she admitted, "why would dad lie?"

"You have to go home," he evaded, "you have to go home to your mom, you're not safe here,"

"What do you mean?" she questioned, "If you're not Max, who are you? Are you even my uncle?"

"Yes," he answered, "I'm your uncle, and as your uncle i'm telling you to go home,"

"Why?" she quizzed, "tell me what's wrong,"

"You don't need to know," he insisted, "Not now, not ever, you just need to go home,"

"I'm not going to leave unless you tell me," she insisted, "I deserve to know what's going on, he's my father,"

"I'm not Max, Gabriella," he told her, "Max doesn't exist, I am your uncle, but, i'm not your dad's brother, i'm your mom's brother,"

"Michael?" she stuttered questioningly, her eyes widening as he nodded, "but..."

"Yes," he explained, "I was taken, I was only ten, I had to look after your mom, I told them that if they let her go, I'd stay with them, I'd keep quiet and do what they wanted, answering to Max became part of life, your mother was too young to have remembered him, and when he told me about you, I realised I hadn't done much to protect her, but I have to protect you, you have to leave, you have to stay away from him,"

"What about you?" She questioned, "What'll happen to you if they find out what you've just told me?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "but your dad, he never thought of you when he was in California, he barely thought of Alex, he can barely look after himself, and I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but he doesn't care, he wants you to have something over your mom,"

"How do I know you're not lying," I pointed out, deciding to argue with him even though his words were clearly the truth, "How do I know anything that you're saying is true, for all I know, you could be making it up to get at dad,"

"I am Michael," he insisted, "You just have to believe that I'd never lie to you, especially not about this, think about it, what reason do I have to lie?"

"I didn't say that I didn't believe you," she explained, "I just said that I don't have much reason to,"

"Go to your mom," he ordered, "you're safer there, just go,"

"Can I tell her?" Gabriella asked, watching him questioningly, "her and my grandparents, tell them that you're ok,"

"You can tell them that i'm ok, and I miss them," he decided, "but you can't tell them where I am, or who i'm with, and no matter what you do, stay safe, pack now, and leave before they get back,"

She nodded, heading into the bedroom where her bags where, throwing the few things that had actually been taken out back into them and swinging them over her shoulder, waving to her uncle, she quickly left the room, taking the stairs to ensure that she avoided her father.

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**That's it, for now, not for the story, unless I die, which is inevitable at some point over the next 85 years or so, but anyways, Review, because i'm back at school, so whichever chapter from one of my stories gets the most reviews is the one I update next after the next getting through chapter.**


	30. Lost

**I'm baaaccck, although i'm kinda doubling up again, i'm writing this and the next chapter of the cobra simultaneously.**

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**I'm officially ecstatic, I now have all ten seasons of little house on the prairie on DVD (I know, how sad am I), I watched it all the time when I was little, and I never realised how much I missed it until I caught an episode on TV last month, I then got my dad to buy the DVD's.**

**Anyways, onto the chapter.**

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Gabriella unlocked the front door of her home, her real home, as quick as possible, running into the house and slamming it behind her as she dropped her bags on the floor.

"MOM?" She shouted throughout the house, setting her keys down on the hall table, surprised that her mother hadn't come running when she heard the door slam, "MOM, ARE YOU HERE?"

The somehow cold silence filled the house as she ran through the downstairs rooms, hoping that her mother had just not heard her. Finding no one she went back to the front door, retrieving her bags and carrying them upstairs to her room. She smiled as she opened the door, everything was exactly how she had left it, without bothering to close the door, she made her way over to her bed, instantly relaxing as she dropped the bags on the floor next to her and laid down, looking through the open door.

An hour passed, followed by another fifteen minutes, and she found herself literally watching the clock so intently, that by the time she heard the voice of her mother and what she presumed to be her mother's boyfriend, Dan, from downstairs, she jumped a little in shock, before regaining her composure, remaining seated on her bed as she listened to the conversation taking place downstairs.

".... she took these with her," Anna was saying, "I made sure she had her keys in case she wanted to come back, why are they here?"

"Don't panic, Anna," Dan insisted, "she probably just came by when we were out and left them here by mistake or something, or she could still be here,"

"We'd have seen her by now if she was still here," Anna sighed, "Gabriella won't give in, not until I apologise, but I have no way to apologise to her now, I tried to see her yesterday, but he wouldn't let me, I raised her, he abandoned her, but somehow i'm still the bad guy,"

"You're not," responded Dan rationally, "You're her mom, she loves you, she'll come back sooner or later, she'll see him for what he really is,"

Gabriella couldn't listen anymore, she slowly stood up, beginning to walk to the top of the stairs when she heard a knock on the door, halting her in her movements.

She heard her mother open it, her voice grew stronger as she spoke to the person whom had knocked, "Unless you're here to return my daughter, leave,"

"She's gone, Anna," Came the voice of Aaron, "she went out with that boyfriend of hers and she never came back, I looked for her, when I got back to the hotel her things were gone,"

"You've lost my daughter," Anna snapped angrily, clearly worried, "How is it possible to lose a teenage girl?"

"Unless she doesn't want to be found," Dan intervened, "she's a kid, kids do this sort of stuff,"

"Keep out of this, ok," Aaron stated in a hiss, "my daughter is nothing to do with you,"

Gabriella heard a sigh and then footsteps on the stairs, she made a dash for my room, knowing that she wouldn't make it, but disappearing in there anyway, leaving the door open so she could still hear.

She jumped back as the vaguely familiar figure of Dan stopped outside the door, looking right at me.

"Please, don't tell him," she begged in a whisper, "you can't tell him that i'm here,"

"I'm not going to tell him anything," Dan assured her in the same low tone, "How long have you been up here?"

"Around an hour and a half," Gabriella admitted, "I can't stay with him, I can't go back with him,"

"Stay here," Dan demanded, trying to make it sound like an optional request, "I'll go and help your mom get rid of him,"

Gabriella nodded, following him out the room to her previous position as he continued down the stairs.

"Instead of having a conversation about it," Dan pointed out, "Shouldn't you be out looking for her, considering you're the one that lost her in the first place,"

"I should go and look too," Anna tried, "If anything happened to her..."

"Anna, you should stay here, if she comes here you have to be here," Dan excused, his tone perfectly believable, clearly not gaining suspicion from anyone, "If you're not here, it'll just scare her more,"

"I'll call if I find her," Aaron insisted spitefully, heading back down the driveway.

As soon as Gabriella heard the front door close she moved to the top of the stairs, sure that she would soon be in her mother's view.

"I can't believe he lost..." Anna cut off at the sight of her daughter standing at the top of the stairs, and gasped in shock, followed by a sigh of relief, "come here,"

Gabriella didn't need telling twice, she quickly ran down the stairs and into her mothers waiting arms, letting her tears fall freely as the older woman continued talking, "When he told me you were gone, oh sweetie, don't let me feel like that, ever again, I've missed you so much, i'm sorry if I hurt you, but I only did it..."

"Because you were doing what you thought was best for me," Gabriella finished, "I get it, mom, but, I have to tell you something,"

"What is it?" Anna released her daughter slightly to enable them to make eye contact.

"Mommy," Gabriella began, nervous before she'd even started to speak, "Mom, Michael's ok,"

Anna's eyes widened at her daughter's words, and she felt herself gulp as she digested the information before replying, "How do you know? How do you know he's ok? How did you find out he existed?"

"I can't tell you how I know," Gabriella slowly relented, "I promised I wouldn't, I can't mom, it'll put him in danger, if they find out that I know he'll be in danger, all he said was, that I can tell you he's ok,"

"Ok," Anna accepted it straight away, knowing the conversation wasn't over, but just too glad to have her daughter back to start pushing her for information, so instead, she turned to Dan, "You went up there, you must have known when you came back down?"

"Yeah," He answered truthfully, "but I couldn't tell you she was here in front of him,"

"Mom?" Gabriella began, regaining Anna's attention, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left, it wasn't fair,"

"shhhhh," Anna quietened, "you're home now, it's ok, you must be tired, you should go to bed, sweetie, get some rest,"

Gabriella nodded, but didn't get the chance to follow through with her mom's suggestion as her cell began to ring loudly, a smile appearing on her tear stained face.

"Where are you?" questioned the worried voice as soon as she answered, "your dad is freaking out, he doesn't believe that I dropped you off back at the hotel, he's talking about the police, Gab, I could be in trouble here,"

"I'm at home," she told him, "my real home, if he calls the police then tell them that i'm here, and I'll tell them that you did take me back there, I just didn't stay, you won't get in trouble, you didn't do anything wrong,"

"Calling the police?" Dan asked in the background, sounding confused, "who's calling the police?"

"Aaron," Gabriella sighed, noticing the look on her mother's face as she noticed that he had not been called 'Dad' , "because as far as he knows, i'm missing,"

"Gab, he's talking to my parents," Troy complained, "they're going to think I've done something to you,"

"No they're not," she argued, "They know you'd never hurt me, they know, and I can tell them, when Aaron leaves, you can call again and I can tell them that i'm ok, that i'm home, with my mom, you're not going to be in any trouble, please don't be mad at me,"

"I'm not mad at you," he insisted, realising that his tone had probably come across too harsh, "I'm just worried about you, it's not your fault that he's threatening me, but why didn't you tell me you were going back home?"

"I didn't really think about it," she admitted, walking up the stairs towards her room, "it just sort of happened, after Uncle Michael told me what Aaron had done,"

"You found Michael?" came Troy's curious voice, "When?"

"There is no Max, Max is Michael," Gabriella explained to her boyfriend, pausing to think before rushing a continuation, "He saved my mom by sacrificing himself, but you can't tell her that, because if she knows she'll go after him, and she can't do that, I don't know what they'll do, and I can't lose her again,"

"Relax," he tried calming her as she walked into her room closing the door behind her, "I won't say anything, I promise, not a word to anyone, but Gab, how are you going to explain to your dad why you left? He'll come to the club tomorrow, you know."

"Maybe I could tell him..." she started, "No, that wouldn't work, but I could say that I left because I can't live with someone who won't accept you,"

"I like that excuse," he answered cockily, "shows how inhumanely awesome I am,"

"The ego strikes again," Gabriella answered, herself giggling, "I guess I should try and sleep, before you called, mom kept telling me to go to bed, I guess I look tired or something,"

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He questioned, "Bright and early, I can't expect you to walk to work,"

"Yeah," she responded, "although I could get my mom to take me if you don't want to go out of your way,"

"Your house is on my way to work," he argued, "it's not out of my way,"

"Troy, your house is between mine and the club, you have to backtrack after you pick me up," she pointed out, not really minding his insistence, "Give me one good reason why it's better for you to pick me up,"

"I have a few," he informed me, beginning to list them, "Firstly, it would only be my truck taking both of us, so the lack of another car leads to less carbon emissions, which means me driving you to work could save our lives, plus, the earlier I get to see you tomorrow the better, I miss you already, and most importantly, we get a little us time in before work, giving me a whole twenty-fiveish minutes more to fuss over you than I would have if I didn't pick you up,"

"You know," Gabriella laughed, "That first excuse almost made you sound smart,"

"I am smart," he shot back seriously, but the jokey tone still in his voice, "I would say i'm insulted by that, but if I keep you talking any longer, your mom would probably hunt me down with a carving knife for wrecking your sleep, plus, my mom's hovering over me, probably wants to know if I've murdered you or something, SHE'S FINE MOM,"

Gabriella laughed at his evaluation of both of their mothers, "I'd better let you go and explain that i'm not dead then, bye,"

"Bye angel," he responded, "see you tomorrow morning,"

"Angel?" she asked before hanging up, "since when?"

"Since I decided that you were one," he replied, pride evident in his voice, "now go and sleep, no excuses, bye,"

"Bye," she grinned, listening for the sound of the beep, "are you going to hang up?"

"I could get my mom to," he suggested, telling her that he didn't really want to end the call.

"You probably should, or we'll be talking all night," Gabriella smiled at his obvious care, "Bye,"

"Bye," he whispered, before she heard the faint handing over of the phone.

"Bye Gabriella," came his mother's voice, followed by the short, dull bleep telling her that the call had been ended.

Gabriella smiled as she put her cell down and began getting ready for bed, heading back downstairs to say goodnight to her mom for the first time in weeks as soon as she was done.

"Mom?" she asked, walking into lounge and sitting down next to her, "should I call Aaron? To make him stop looking."

"I'll call him later," Anna promised, "you've had enough excitement for today,"

"What have you two got planned for tomorrow?" Dan suddenly piped up, looking from one to the other.

"Work," they both replied simultaneously.

"How about I take you both out to dinner tomorrow night?" he suggested, "a celebration of sorts,"

"You'd have to clear that with Troy," Anna told him, "That's his time, you know, if you want to take her somewhere during his time, you usually have to book in advance,"

Gabriella smiled again at her mother's comment, knowing that it was, for the most part, completely true.

"He can come too," Dan decided after a few seconds, "I guess our paths will start crossing if we're both round here a lot, I should at least know who the guy is,"

"I'll ask him," Gabriella relented, she wasn't sure she was ready to be playing happy families with her mom's boyfriend, but she knew there wasn't a chance that Troy would say no, he'd want to inspect the guy for the mere fact that he was going to be around her, "I guess it depends on what he's got planned,"

"Ask him tomorrow," Anna ordered as her daughter yawned, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you to go to bed,"

"But mom," Gabriella complained, "What if Aaron comes back here during the night?"

"Then I'll be here to get rid of him," Dan admitted to her in response to her question, "I can hardly leave you two unprotected now, can I?"

Gabriella nodded, in understanding, secretly impressed by the effort he was making to get along with her, knowing that it was more for her mothers sake then for her, but knowing he would be there gave her a small sense of comfort, the tiniest feeling that perhaps everything was going to be ok.

"Bed," Anna demanded as her daughter yawned again, "you're too big for me to carry you up there now,"

"Mom," Gabriella whined as she stood up, changing her tone and words when she saw the stern look that appeared on her mother's face, "Night Mom, Night Dan,"

"Goodnight," they both responded in unison as she left the room, making her way upstairs.

Climbing into bed, Gabriella noticed the picture of an envelope on the screen of her cell, telling her that she had a text, she quickly opened her inbox to find that she had three, and opened the first to read it.

_G, figured Vi wudn't say nethin, so bout us comin 2 this new place of urs 4 a visit, yeah, turns out we r, Ty_

She hit reply, knowing that Tyler would expect one at some point.

_Ty, that's gr8, I guess i'll c u soon, cnt wait 4 u 2 meet every1, G_

As soon as the message had been sent she went back to her inbox, frowning at the number the second message was from:

_Gabi, this isn't funny, where are you? Dad_

She rolled her eyes as she noticed that he'd still kept proper vocabulary in a text that was meant to be a desperate father's plea for information, before going to the next message and giggling.

_Angel, I cnt believe she hung up, I miss u now, u dnt need beauty slp,i dnt think it's possible 4 u 2 lk any better, cn I call bk, T xox_

She hit reply again, still laughing at his words,

_T, I hav 2 slp, i'll c y 2moz, pinky promise, I miss u 2, G xox_

She put her cell back on her bedside table, immediately laying down and watching it, knowing he would reply to her message within a matter of minutes.

When his reply came and grabbed her cell again, reading it as quick as possible as she smiled at his short message.

_Angel, did u 4get ur nme is Angel? T xox_

She shook her head in amusement as she hit reply again, promising herself that it would be the last time that night.

_T, I didn't 4get, ur makin me laugh, I nd 2 slp, prob wnt reply nemre, c u 2moz, UR Angel xox_

She switched her cell onto silent, before turning over under the covers so she didn't see the flashing lights when his obvious reply came.

She smiled at the sight of the picture on the wall she was now facing, the happy memory of the callbacks for the spring musical coming to mind at the sight of the picture her mother had insisted on taking.

Slowly, still thinking of the picture, she drifted into a comfortable slumber.

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**Woo, finished, and it only took me, a week and a half, which is becoming kind of normal, considering the chapters are longer now and I have school (although I didn't this week).**

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**Review, the next update depends on the number of reviews, because right now, Impossible Perfection is just ahead in the review stakes, getting one or two more per chapter, which is cool because I like writing it, but I also like writing this so you need to battle it out and review to get me to update this one first, if you don't mind which one, review both, even if it's just to tell me to stop being inspired by hear'say songs(Disclaimer: I don't own hear'say, infact, no one does anymore.)**


	31. I'll Be There

**This took me longer than I thought it would, mainly because I'm lazy and took a decade to start it, plus, when I actually finished it, I couldn't log in to put it up, but surprisingly, I actually like it, I never usually like my chapters, especially when I had no original motivation to write it.**

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Gabriella woke early, smiling at the familiar surroundings as she enthusiastically jumped out of bed, quickly getting ready for the day of work ahead of her, happiness almost consuming her.

She made her way downstairs, rushing to the kitchen, leaning against the counter as her mother turned to her.

"Sleep well?" the older woman questioned, unable to hide her smile as she focused on her daughter.

"Better than I have in weeks," the teen replied truthfully, glad that the conversation between them was not awkward like she had expected it to be.

"Probably due to less stress," Anna suggested, "I don't want you to worry any more, I called Aaron last night after you went to bed." Gabriella's smile faltered as she listened, "he knows you're safe, he was mad, he wanted to come and get you, I had to threaten him with police in the end," Anna watched her daughter carefully, then committed herself to telling her the one part that the girl would probably like. "I also called your friend Ryan, Aaron's membership is being suspended pending checks, he won't get back in until at least September,"

"So I'll be gone when he gets back in," The teen's smile returned, "Thanks mom,"

"It's making me feel better about you working there," Anna admitted, sitting down at the counter near her standing daughter, "I'm not exactly his biggest fan, and despite the fact that he's your father, I don't like him being near you,"

"I don't want him near me mom," Gabriella assured, "I'm sorry for leaving, I shouldn't have, you were right, he doesn't care about me,"

"No apologising," her mother argued calmly, surveying her daughter's suddenly downcast face, "what's wrong?"

Gabriella shook her head, "I should check my bag, make sure I have everything," she quickly turned, about to head to the door.

"Gabriella," Anna halted her daughter with her tone of voice, "talk to me,"

Gabriella turned back to face her mother, her upset still clear, "why doesn't he care about me? What did I do, mom?"

"Baby," Anna sighed, automatically standing and embracing her daughter, "Aaron's selfish, that's not your fault, please don't blame yourself for him being a terrible person, there's nothing you can do about that, there's nothing anyone can do about that, you didn't do anything wrong,"

"I almost died thanks to him," she responded, "I must have done something,"

"No," Anna insisted, "don't you even think that, ok, don't you dare,"

"But..." Gabriella started, immediately stopping as she noticed her mom's look, the pain and anger mingled in the older woman's features, causing her daughter to feel more guilty than she already did, "I'm sorry,"

"Stop that," Anna demanded, letting her daughter out of her embrace, "stop apologising, and stop blaming yourself,"

"I wish he'd never came," Gabriella sighed as she took a small step back, "he ruined everything, we were happy before, why did he come?"

"He doesn't care that we were happy," Anna explained, "Aaron likes to get what he wants, he doesn't care who he hurts, even if it's you or his son,"

The next sound was that of a knock in the door, a sound that prompted the teenage girl to break the silence within the room, "That'll be Troy,"

She ran from the room to greet her boyfriend, waving awkwardly at Dan as he passed her, she'd forgotten that he was even there, but the brief meeting reminded her of the question she needed to ask.

"In a rush?" Troy quizzed as she opened the door, bag in hand, "I'm early, you know. We won't be late if you slow down a little,"

"I know," she told him, trying to automatically seem happy in order to stop him from worrying, "I just really want to get to work,"

"I came early so we could hang out longer," he admitted, shutting the door she had left open before following her down the path, "you really want to go early?"

She turned, taking in his expression before speaking, "You still have got extra time, we can stay in the truck until we'd normally get there, but I do want to go now,"

"Anything you want," he smiled at her, opening the passenger door as he approached the truck, waiting for her to get it before closing it and walking around, getting in next to her, "you're not nervous about today?"

"Mom called Ryan, so Aaron won't get in today," she rushed in explanation, not really wanting to linger on the subject, "Tay and I also have the same lunch break again," he nodded, clearly a little relieved at the carefree demeanour she was showing, listening intently as she continued, "and of course, the best part, I heard there was gonna be this really hot guy there today,"

"Should I be worried?" he teased in response, his smile an obvious give away, "do I have to hide you in my locker?"

"His eyes are this amazing blue," she smirked, watching him as he began to drive, "I can't wait to see that,"

"He sounds like a brilliant guy, you should date him," Troy responded, his smile growing as his eyes remained on the road, "of course, I would have to beat him up, so it doesn't really matter how brilliant he is,"

"Goes to East High with me too," she continued, "He's that strange one, you may know him, the one that keeps kissing me in the hall?"

"I love that guy," He informed her, "I was right, he is amazing, I also heard that you're a fan of the kissing,"

"I am," she admitted, "I'm a big fan of the kissing, I also love this necklace he got me, even though he shouldn't be giving me things, he should be saving all his money for college, but he just can't seem to stop spoiling me,"

"I do not spoil you..." he denied, ending the moment quickly, but happily, before slyly adding, "...enough,"

"You spoil me way too much," she insisted, glaring at him playfully, knowing he could see her out of the corner of his eye, "You're gonna make me a brat,"

"But you'd me my brat," he pointed out, "which is perfectly fine by me," he glanced at her quickly, catching the hidden question in her eyes before he turned back to the road, "Ask away,"

"How did you know?" she questioned him, "how could you have possibly known?"

"Because," He declared proudly, "I am an all knowing, over spoiling boyfriend,"

He saw her giggle before composing herself and speaking, "You don't have to, ok?" he nodded, prompting her to continue, "Dan was at my house last night," she let out a breath that he hadn't known she'd even began holding, "he asked me and my mom if he could take us out to dinner tonight,"

"On my time?" Troy asked sceptically, "I'm not sure I could possibly bear to let you go,"

"The thing is," she added, "he wants you to come, he says he should try to get to know you too,"

"I'm in," he replied automatically, before taking on a serious tone, "but I pay for us, alright? I don't want him or your mom thinking I can't look after you,"

"Save your money," Gabriella whined, pouting at him slightly, "he offered, and I think my mom would be less worried if she knew you were actually going to get a college education that won't land you in debt in a few years,"

"I'm paying for us," he insisted, "I like to treat you, and I would have been anyway if he hadn't wanted to take us out, so no arguments,"

She continued pouting, knowing he could see her, eventually stopping when she saw the expression of deep amusement that graced his face.

"Dan's paying," she did the one thing he'd told her not to, "he said last night, beat you to the punch, so you have to let him pay,"

"I beat him," her boyfriend retorted, "I said months ago that every time I take you out, I pay, the fact that you protest every time is irrelevant,"

"You're impossible," she evaluated, reaching over and turning on the radio, "so now you must suffer the consequences,"

She began repeatedly changing the station, giggling at his failed attempts to stop her and his complaints that she was "messing with his tunes,", finally settling at a station playing the kind of bubblegum pop she knew he hated.

"Seriously?" He asked her, his tone matching his earlier complaints, "You're really going to make me listen to this, you're going to make me listen to this because I want to look after you,"

"Stop being such a guy," she demanded, smiling as he glanced at her again, "would letting Dan pay really bruise your ego that much?"

"Yes, it would," he responded, "plus, treating you is one of the few pleasures I get in life, I'm not going to give it up for anyone, especially not some guy I don't know,"

"Then get to know him at the restaurant," she insisted, "then you'll know him and you can let him pay,"

"Are we seriously going to fight about me treating you?" he asked, his amusement obvious, "because if so I may have to change my mind about tonight, of course, I'll let you go to be fair on your mom, she'll want to spend time with you, but I won't go, you and Dan need quality time anyway..."

He trailed off at the somewhat distraught look on her face, wondering if he had gone too far, he'd forgotten about the events of the previous day before seeing her face, he hadn't thought about how sensitive she would be to the subject. She'd be spending time with Dan, her mom's boyfriend, not her father. He hadn't considered how hurt she'd be about losing him again.

"Hey," he changed his tone, suddenly all too aware that he couldn't reach out to comfort her, he hated driving sometimes, "I'll be there, ok?"

He watched as she nodded, before turning to stare out of the window.

He smiled slightly as he pulled into the staff parking lot some fifteen minutes later, she hadn't spoken since she'd turned to the window, and he knew once he stopped the truck that he could do more to comfort her.

"Come here," he sighed softly, pulling her to him and running his fingers through her hair, "Everything's going to be ok, you'll see. We'll be ok. What happened wasn't your fault."

"I'm fine," she tried, knowing that he wouldn't buy it, "I am,"

"Of course," he agreed, still keeping her close, frowning when she sighed, "you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head in refusal, and he wasn't about to push her, she'd talk when she was ready.

"Can we go in?" she questioned after little more than a minute, looking up at his face.

He leant down, pressing a kiss on her forehead before releasing her from his grip, getting out of the truck and walking around to open the door for her.

She walked slowly, knowing that he was moving at the same pace as her purposely, since she'd forgiven him for everything that had happened at the start of the summer, he'd became increasingly attentive, there was hardly ever a moment where he let her fall even a step behind, he didn't like creating distance between them, no matter how small.

It was almost empty inside, the only occupant being the full time chef, whom was starting with his usual morning routine. He smiled when he saw them, as he usually did to all members of staff, turning back to his work before they could even smile in response.

They separated for less than a minute, going into separate locker rooms in order to lose their bags, before meeting eachother again outside the two rooms, they had a while before they had to start work.

The door leading to the dining room opened almost as soon as they left the locker rooms, and Gabriella found herself behind her boyfriend before she could even look up to see who had come in. It wasn't until she did that she came to understand his protective actions. The girl that had walked through the door was not one she had expected to see for a while, but sure enough, there she was, her father close behind her.

She was walking towards them, her expression one of nervousness, her father's face could have been solid, his stony glare still on the back of her head.

"Gabriella?" she asked quickly, "can I talk to you, you know, alone?"

"No." Troy refused, not granting his girlfriend an opportunity to speak, "she's not going anywhere with you, you want to talk to her, you say it now,"

Sharpay turned to her father, only to be met by his cold glare as he forced her to continue.

"I'm sorry," she rushed out, although it was unclear whether or not she actually meant it, "for what I did, to you and Taylor, I knew it was wrong, It was stupid, I was just jealous, but I guess I just have to accept that he's never going to leave you."

Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, but once again her boyfriend beat her, "you think apologising will stop her from standing up in court?"

The blonde stood open-mouthed, although the expression on her father's face had not changed.

"I'm not going to court, Troy," Gabriella whispered to him, knowing that the others could hear, "I can't,"

"You have too," he insisted, "for Taylor, think of what she did to Taylor, what Taylor did for you,"

"I can't," she repeated adamantly, looking at the other girl, who seemed just as shocked at the admittance as he was, before saying, "was that it?"

Sharpay nodded, turning and quickly fleeing the room, her father watched her as she left before turning back to Gabriella and finally speaking up, "I must apologise for what she's done myself, I can assure you that she will be severely punished for her reckless actions,"

They watched as the older man headed in the direction his daughter had gone, and as soon as the door closed behind him, Troy turned to his girlfriend.

"What do you mean you're not going to court?" he demanded, "she could have killed you, how can you not want to help?"

"I just can't, ok," she told him sharply, he'd made it obvious that he did not agree with her decision, "you won't change my mind,"

"All you have to do is say what happened," he continued, "It's not that hard, and I'll be there, your mom will be there,"

"I can't do it," she cried, beginning to struggle as he wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down.

"I know you're scared," he whispered, holding on to her tightly, her movement having no effect on him at all, "but you're not alone in this,"

"You don't get it," she accused, "I'm not going to do it, I can't,"

She pulled roughly away from him, running back into the locker room as he tried to grab hold of her again.

He frowned as the door closed behind her, knowing that attempting to talk to her through it would not help him, she wouldn't respond.

He sighed, turning around and heading further into the kitchen, he'd give her some space and talk to her later, it wasn't like he had any other choice.

He found a plate of food being pushed in front of him as he sat down, and was only momentarily surprised, he'd forgotten about breakfast, but the chef always made sure they ate, he liked having people to try the food.

"Hey," he heard a new voice as soon as the man had walked away, making him look up to see Kelsi looking back at him, "Where's Gabriella?"

"Locker room," he answered, "ignoring me."

"What happened?" she questioned, suddenly wary, as if she was nervous about intruding.

"I have no idea," he admitted, "She said she wasn't going to go to court over the whole Sharpay thing, and when I tried convincing her to, she ran in there,"

"Oh," Kelsi answered, suddenly wary, "there's a reason for that,"

"What do you know?" Troy questioned quickly, "Why's she scared?"

"You know when she fell out of that tree and nearly died?" the girl decided to elaborate, waiting as I nodded before continuing, "her dad got sued for negligence, and when it came out that he was high at the time, child services investigated her mom, they were set on taking her away until they figured out that her mom didn't know that he was high when she left her with him, she won't go to court, because the last time she did, she was taken there by a social worker, she was almost taken from her mom,"

"She told you all that?" He asked her, a little shocked at what he'd just been told. His friend just nodded, prompting him to continue, "she told you all that and she'll barely tell me anything,"

"She doesn't like to talk about it," Kelsi replied, aware of how the information had affected him, "And what with her dad being back, it's harder for her,"

"Can you get her to come out?" his question came out as a request, but the girl just nodded and headed towards the locker room.

She reappeared several minutes later, her friend behind her, clearly reluctant to actually be leaving the room, her pace slower than normal.

Troy stood as he saw them, automatically embracing his girlfriend as soon as she came close enough, despite her protective posture.

"You should have told me," he sighed, breathing in her scent, "I'm sorry I got a little mad,"

He smiled lightly as she slowly responded to his embrace, allowing him to hug her tighter before pulling away to look at him.

"It's ok," he assured her, noticing how unsure she was, "I understand, Taylor will too,"

She nodded, "I'm sorry I overreacted,"

"It's alright," he insisted, glad that she was speaking, "everyone's allowed to overreact every once in a while,"

"Why do you deal with me?" she questioned, " not even my own father wants me but you won't go, why?"

"Easy," he answered quickly, smiling down at her, "I can't live without you, going even a day without seeing you is painful, you're perfect, and I love you, forget about your dad, he's an idiot, he's not important enough for you to even think about, I can honestly say dealing with you is the easiest thing I've ever had to do,"

He saw her smile before she relaxed completely, "I needed to hear that,"

"If you ever need to hear it again," he responded in reassurance, "I'll be here,"

* * *

**Review, i need inspiration to write the epilogue of Getting Through, which i'll start sometime soon.**


	32. Flawless

**Getting through is finished! I'm really happy about that, there were times I thought I'd never finish. I checked the stats of all of my stories, if everyone that read had reviewed every now and again, they'd be a lot more, but the reality is not everyone has the time. **

**Tiny bit of drama, way too much fluff, not as long as some chapters.**

* * *

"Tay, do you believe that he loves me?" Gabriella questioned her friend, picking at the salad in front of her, " Sofia said you can never be sure anymore,"

"Sofia doesn't know Troy," Taylor pointed out, rubbing the back of her head gently, "she doesn't know you either if you think about it,"

"Are you ok?" Gabriella exclaimed, watching her friend's actions, "do you need something for the pain? Are you sure you're ready to be back here?"

"I'm fine, Gabs," The other girl sighed, lowering her hand, "you sounded like my mom then," she looked up as the door opened, turning back to her friend as one of the waiters came in, "Seriously, I'm fine. Why are you doubting him?"

"I'm not," Gabriella defended, "It's just, Marco says that it's obvious Troy loves me, but his own wife is telling me that you can never know anymore,"

"Honey, he dotes on you," Taylor pointed out, "Has he even left you alone for more than five minutes in the past few weeks?"

"When he's working," she shot back, "and I do go home, you know,"

"You can cross off working, "Taylor smirked, "ever since you got off for lunch he's been coming in and out to check on you,"

"That's crazy," Gabriella insisted, glancing over at the door to the dining room just in time to see her boyfriend duck out, "he's getting food for people,"

"That involves looking over here?" Taylor questioned, "he doesn't always take something out either, he's watching you. You know, it's great being back here, I've missed so much, you have to catch me up on everything,"

"Not much has happened," she sighed, " you were only gone for like, three weeks or whatever, I swear, my mom freaked out over a sprained wrist more than your mom did over surgery, it's weird, mom didn't want me to come back, she wouldn't stop saying it, and then I stayed with Aaron for a while, hopefully he'll go back home soon, but I don't really know what's going on with everyone else, I mean, Chad's been at the hospital with you pretty much the whole time, and then he was at your house all the time, I still don't know how he got the time off."

"Compassionate leave," Taylor replied, "not sure how he managed to swing it, but that's the reason, you seriously haven't been paying much attention to everything?"

"I've had a lot going on," Gabriella admitted, "It's hard to keep up with everyone else when your own life is still partly a disaster zone,"

"Of course," Taylor gasped, "I'm sorry, i've been so wrapped up in catching up with what's going on in general that I completely forgot to check what's going on with you,"

"It's okay," Gabriella insisted, grinning at her friend "your mom called this morning and told me that your doctor said you may still have mild concussion, so I can let you get away with it this once,"

"Oh My God, she does not stop," the other girl complained, "she actually called you? That is so unbelievable, that was days ago he said that, days, she has got to let it drop, I'm fine now, no pain," she paused, frowning at the sceptical look on her friend's face, "no pain, I promise, anyway, you have to tell me everything, you said you were living with your dad, why? Why are you calling him Aaron again? Why isn't he hanging around like he did before? Why did you leave your mom's in the first place? Why didn't you visit me while I was dying of boredom in hospital? Or at home?"

"Whoa, you just jumped right in there," Gabriella laughed, before quickly trying to answer the questions, "I had a disagreement with my mom, so I was staying with Aaron. I left him because I found out something that I can't forgive him for, which is also the reason I'm back to calling him Aaron, I didn't visit you other than that one time because everything was crazy, everyone was freaking out, and I had work stuff, I would have come if I could of made it,"

"I know you would have," Taylor smiled, "I'll forgive you if you tell me what you're doing tonight,"

"Having dinner with my mom, her boyfriend and Troy," Gabriella admitted, frowning slightly at the thought.

"An interesting combination," Taylor laughed at her friend's minor discomfort, "That's gonna be fun for you,"

"Yes, I do want my boyfriend in full protective mode again," Gabriella sighed sarcastically.

"It has to be a better than how this summer started," Taylor pointed out, "I still don't get how you got through that,"

"Neither do I," Gabriella admitted, frowning, "It still hurts, you know," She paused, watching her friend glance over at the door before returning her gaze, "every time something reminds me of it all, it still hurts, and it makes me doubt everything again, I don't want to feel like that, but I do, what if he starts forgetting me again for whatever, I try not to be, but I'm scared that it'll happen again, and I'm not sure we'll survive if it does,"

"Why didn't you tell me you felt that way?" She heard a caring voice from behind her, arms wrapping around her tightly and she immediately knew what her friend had glanced at, he'd heard, "I need to know these things, ok?" She nodded, allowing him to continue, "It's not going to happen again, I won't let it happen, if you need to hear that all you have to do is tell me,"

She leaned back onto his chest, smiling as he pressed a kiss in her hair.

"Aren't you meant to be working?" she queried, not really wanting him to leave, "I don't want you to get in trouble,"

"I've literally just started my lunch break," he explained, moving one of his hands to her hair, beginning to run his fingers through it, "at least we get some time together,"

"Not enough," she sighed, suddenly completely relaxed, "I have to go back out in about ten minutes,"

"We have tonight as well," he murmured, pressing his lips to her head again before smirking, "I like that I get to pay."

"I didn't agree to that," she answered, responding to his teasing as he reluctantly released her from his hold after seeing Fulton frown in their direction, "and I'm not going to, you are not paying, when my mother's boyfriend invites us out for dinner, he pays, no matter how badly it may affect your ego,"

"Ok, let's make a deal here," he offered, his smirk still evident, fingers crossed behind his back, "I'll let him pay and cause serious damage to my ego as long as you promise that you will restore it,"

She frowned playfully as she turned slightly and looked up at him, "Is there a second option?"

He laughed, "No,"

She nodded, agreeing to take his offer, "But if you try paying behind my back the deal's off,"

"I won't try and pay," He lied, fingers still crossed, "I'll just find something else to pay for,"

"No you won't," she insisted, narrowing her eyes slightly, "no spending money on me,"

"Ok, ok," he relented, his fingers remaining crossed, "I won't spend money on you," he paused, taking in the victorious smile on her face before smirking and adding, "today,"

"Until after we graduate college," she corrected him.

"Gabs, I love you, and I'd do everything you want if I could, but that's crazy," he answered, "what's the point in me having money if I can't spend it on you?"

"Can you please leave the cuteness for when I'm not around?" Taylor spoke up, still smiling as they both turned to her, "as amusing as watching you two is, this isn't the time or the place and you know what Fulton would do if he heard any of it,"

"He's actually been a little distant since, well,what happened," Gabriella told her friend, "I don't know, maybe he feels guilty or something,"

"He should," Troy scoffed, "helping barbie get whatever she wants, no matter what the price,"

"At least no one died," Taylor smiled, attempting to lighten the mood, frowning when she realised she was unsuccessful.

"You could have!" He exclaimed, before once again embracing his girlfriend protectively, "you both could have," he lowered his voice, sensing the tension, "I know it turned out you were going to be fine, that you would never have died, but that's not the point Taylor, where would your parents or Chad be without you? How would they cope? How would Gabs cope?"

"He couldn't have known she'd do that," Gabriella interrupted, "It's not his fault,"

"He just did whatever she wanted!" He exclaimed, clearly angry.

"Her parents own the place, what was he supposed to do?"

Taylor quickly excused herself as they argued in harsh whispers, knowing that if she stayed one of them was likely to try and involve her.

"He could have said No,"

"And risked getting fired? You ditched me AND our friends because you were obsessed with pleasing Sharpay to get something. You didn't say no but you think he should have?"

"That's completely different, I wasn't hurting anyone,"

It was out before he could take it back, she had stood and was backing away before he thought to pull her to him. He knew he'd been stupid, he knew he had hurt someone, he'd hurt her, but now he'd denied it. After weeks of trying to make it up to her, he'd denied it, he could tell by the look on her face that the steps they'd taken forward since then had all become irrelevant, he had just denied there was a problem, he knew he'd inadvertently told her that he didn't think he'd done anything wrong all those weeks before.

He stepped forward, taking hold of her hand before she got any further from him, "I didn't mean that,"

"Didn't hurt anyone?" she was crying, he always hated it when she cried, "Am I really that insignificant to you?"

"I didn't mean it," he repeated, quickly pulling her fully into his arms, surprised when she didn't protest, "I know I hurt you, and I know that I am never going to feel like i've made it up to you, but no one was in physical danger from what I did, were they?" His question was met only by silence, so he continued, "By listening to her, by giving her what she wanted and arranging all these golf sessions and dinners for me, he made it harder for her to deal with rejection, she went after you because he had built her up so high she couldn't take it when I rejected her. You can't expect me to forgive him for that?"

"He didn't know what she would do," She sobbed, burying her head in his chest as she felt him rubbing her back soothingly.

"Neither did I," he explained softly, "But that doesn't stop me from hating myself for it, so I won't forgive him either," He paused as she lifted her head, questioning him with her gaze, "I was with her all that time, I could have figured it all out, I just didn't want to see it, I could have stopped all of this before it started if I wasn't so intent on getting that stupid scholarship," She stayed silent, frowning as stray tears still occasionally fell down her cheeks, "If I'd have known then what I know now, the scholarship would have been the last thing on my mind, I can't go to a college that's too far from where you are, for my own good I have to be near you, I wouldn't cope if I wasn't,"

She didn't argue as he'd thought she would, just pulled back from his embrace speaking in a tone that alerted him that things were far from ok between them, "I have to get back to work,"

- - - -

Gabriella sighed as she walked out of the locker room, knowing she had a few minutes to wait before she could head home. Her anxiety over the impending dinner was growing with all the time she was given to think about it, but that anxiety added to the also present worry over her relationship was stressing her out more than she knew how to handle.

She sat calmly at the counter, watching those who were still working as they rushed around the kitchen.

"What's up with you and Troy?" she heard a voice from behind her after only a few minutes, "Tay said she left you in the middle of some kind of fight, he being a jerk again?"

"No," she sighed, "I just overreacted, we're fine," she turned to him, seeing the sceptical look on his face, "honestly, everything is fine Chad, he's not being a jerk,"

"You'd tell me if he was?" The boy asked, clearly concerned, "I don't want my baby sister getting hurt again,"

"If there was anything to tell I would," she promised, "but right now there isn't,"

"You're sure?"

"Chad, stop worrying!"

"Ok,ok," He relented, "You're moody today, is it..."

"Don't even say it," she exclaimed, beginning to get irritated.

He smirked before backing away, meeting Troy as their paths crossed and muttering, "Be careful, I think it's that time of the month,"

Gabriella frowned as she watched the interaction, allowing her boyfriend to wrap her arms around her when he reached her, "remind me to kill Chad tomorrow,"

"Of course,"he agreed, smiling, "we should get going, don't want to be late for your mom and Dan, I need to decide whether or not I approve of him,"

"What if you don't?" She questioned curiously, smiling at his protective manor.

"Then I'll have to inform your mother," he stated formally, "that unless she removes him from your life, I intend to forcefully get you to move in with me,"

"Because your parents would love that," she giggled as he took her hand and pulled her up, "they'll be the first people to agree, would they?"

"My parents love you Gab," he assured her, "if I told them that you needed somewhere to stay, they wouldn't question it, they wouldn't give you a choice but to stay with us,"

She smiled, letting him lead her outside towards his truck, opening the door for her as he had that morning.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she sighed as he got in next to her, "I don't know why I keep overreacting, I just do..."

"Hey," he interrupted, starting the engine as they began the drive back to her house, "You have nothing to apologise for, I wasn't thinking, you had every right to be upset,"

"Why won't you ever let me be wrong?" she questioned, obviously curious.

"You and wrong don't go together," he decided, "perfection can not be wrong, it's not possible,"

"I'm not perfect," she denied, laughing at his facial expression following the words, "I'm not,"

"So getting straight A's is a bad thing?" He asked playfully, "being amazingly gorgeous, completely adorable, insanely sweet, super smart, helpful, caring, kind, all of these are bad things?"

"You concentrate on the good stuff!" she complained, "I do have flaws,"

He turned slightly, keeping one eye on the road as he surveyed her.

"Nope," he evaluated after a few seconds, turning his head back, "don't see any flaws, although I do have to add modest to that list of traits that makes you perfect,"

"I spend ages getting ready when we go out,"

"You make sure you look nice for others,"

"I read really weird, sometimes scary books,"

"That improve your vocab,"

"I can't drive yet,"

"You're worried it would put other people in danger,"

"Sometimes I skip breakfast,"

"Only to make sure that I eat it,"

"That makes me a hypocrite,"

"No, it shows that you care more about others than yourself,"

"Are you just going to sit here spinning everything I say and making it positive?"

"Yep,"

"You suck,"

"I love you too,"

"Suck up," she laughed, watching the content expression on his face.

"Cute," he commented as she stuck her tongue out, "did Dan make reservations?"

"Probably," she answered, relaxing in the seat as she watched him, "You always get worry lines when you drive,"

"What?" He asked, surprised at her random comment, "I do not have worry lines,"

"You do," she insisted, "every time you drive, you get these worry lines,"

"Where?" He stupidly questioned, that one word was all she needed for her to sit up, beginning to poke his face with her finger.

"There, and there, and there, oh, and there's one there" she paused, "can you turn around a second, there has to be more on the other side of your face,"

"Real cute, Gabs," he laughed at her childish behaviour as she settled back down, "next time there will be consequences though,"

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Depends how much you like being tickled,"

"You wouldn't,"

"I think we've already established that I would,"

"But Trooooooy," she whined, prolonging his name, "I'm allergic to being tickled,"

He smiled, "I think we've just found your flaw,"

"What's that?" she asked hopefully.

"You're a terrible liar,"

* * *

**Done!!!!! It only took me, about 6 weeks, I started this before my exams, which ended two weeks ago.**

**Next Chapter: Dinner**

**BEST REVIEWER GETS A SNEAK PEEK OF THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	33. Gift

**For those of you that don't read IP: I changed my pen-name. For those of you that do read IP: I changed my pen-name again – call it an identity crisis, because right now I really am trying to figure out who I am, not just as a writer but as a person too.**

**This took a while because I'm lazy, and, myself and Hazel were writing The Cobra, which will, at some point in the distant future be moved to my account with some parts re-written.**

**I'm really not sure about some parts of this chapter, so it may still be re-written differently.**

**EDIT: Epic fail on my part, some points:**

**I just started a new youtube channel and will put the link up on my profile as soon as i put a video up, check it out if you get the chance.**

**Best review of last chapter, and the reviewer that got the preview: SpiritxXxWildfire.**

**I'm considering ending the story soon, but am not sure. IP is almost done for sure though, something like 7 more chapters and an epilogue. The cobra, my co-written story with Hazierocks, will be taken down, this is temporary, we don't think it's fair that we're not updating that much, especially considering the story is still in it's early stages. It will hopefully be reposted when we finish it, we don't know which account this will be on.**

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Gabriella frowned as she picked at the chicken on her plate, not feeling hungry in her current mood.

"I never even considered the stock market as interesting." Troy was rambling on to Dan non stop, and her mother didn't seem to mind.

It wasn't as if she objected to them getting on herself, it was that Troy was barely acknowledging she was there, awakening memories she'd rather forget for the second time that day, and he was yet to notice she was even upset.

She glanced up at him again as Dan answered a question that she'd missed, sighing and turning away, meeting her mother's sympathetic look. Shrugging, she looked back at the plate in front of her, following the patterns on the edge of it in her mind.

"So, Gabriella," she heard Dan try to involve her in the conversation, "You go back to school soon, right? Senior year?"

Gabriella nodded, "few weeks."

"Are you going to eat something, sweetie?" Gabriella rolled her eyes at her mom's question, nodding gently as she sensed her boyfriend's head whip round.

"I'm not that hungry though." she answered, her gaze still fixed on the plate.

"Gabs?" Troy questioned, clearly concerned, "you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Eat something," he encouraged, placing a hand on her knee under the table. "Want me to feed you? It'd be cute."

She smiled at his response, he always knew how to make her laugh, even when she was annoyed with him. Picking up her fork, she stabbed a piece of chicken and placed it in her mouth, chewing obviously and slowly.

"You know," she smiled after she swallowed the food and turned to her boyfriend, "I think I can manage."

He squeezed her knee as he smiled in response before turning back to Dan, his hand remaining where it was.

"For a second there I thought she wasn't eating because she found out about our deal."

"Troy." Gabriella spoke sternly, frowning as he turned back to her, a sheepish grin on his face. "What deal would that be?"

"Did I say deal, I meant meal," he insisted, his grin growing at the disbelieving look on her face, "Would I ever lie to you?"

Gabriella turned to Dan, "What deal?"

"It's not really a big thing." Dan relented, "he just told me that he'd rather pay for himself and you rather than me paying. He asked me not to tell you though."

She turned back to Troy, "you promised you wouldn't!"

"I had my fingers crossed." He smiled at her. "Did you really think I'd let someone other than me look after you?"

"You're impossible." She commented, a hint of disapproval in her eyes. "You don't have to pay for everything you know! I can pay myself sometimes, and I do have a family. Besides, looking after me and spoiling me are completely different things."

"I'm sorry," he pouted playfully, clearly amused by her reaction.

"This isn't funny, Troy." She insisted, clearly annoyed, "you have got to stop doing this, it's sweet, but you really have got to stop, you can't keep spending your money on me, you need to start listening to me when I talk, please, just listen to me..."

"Gabs," Anna interrupted, waiting until her daughter turned to her before beginning to tease, "exactly how long have you two been married, and why wasn't I there?"

"Not funny mom," she rolled her eyes at the comment, "Why do you always try to be funny?"

"What's going on with you, Gabs?" Troy questioned, shocked by her sudden hostility. He frowned as she turned on him, seeing the pain in her eyes and speaking before she got the chance to, "Come on." He took her hand before turning to Anna, "we'll be back in a few minutes."

He led her outside of the restaurant before facing her again, taking hold of her other hand, "What's wrong? Is it me? Dan?"

She shook her head reluctantly, but spoke in a stutter when she noticed the worry in his eyes, "You were....... ignoring me....in there and... it...."

He sighed, throwing back his head in irritation, she could tell that he was angry and no one but himself, "I'm sorry," he murmured when he looked back at her, "it's just that, I want to get on with him for your sake, I wasn't ignoring you on purpose, I'm sorry I let you feel that way." She gave a small smile, but that wasn't enough to deter him from questioning her, "What else is wrong?"

Gabriella looked down, "Nothing."

"You never could look me in the eye when you lie." Troy observed, "Look at me, look at me and tell me that there's nothing else wrong."

She glanced up at him, pointedly looking into his eyes and opening her mouth, no sound came out despite her efforts.

"What's going on, Gabs?" He sighed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her face, "I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I'm here for you."

"Mom said that there's nothing wrong with me," she gave up, "but there has to be, or he wouldn't hate me so much."

Placing his hands on each of her shoulders, he looked intently into here eyes, he didn't need to ask who she was talking about, "There is nothing wrong with you. I've never met anyone as perfect as you. If Aaron can't see that, then it's his loss. Don't beat yourself up over this. He's the one with the problem, not you."

"How do you know?"

"I know you! I know that there is nothing wrong with you because I know you." He embraced her, more than aware that she was holding her tears back, feeling relief shoot through him when she eventually began to calm down. "You ready to go back in?" She nodded against his chest, and he immediately led her back inside the restaurant and back towards their table.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?" Anna quizzed as soon as the pair had sat back down.

Gabriella nodded as her boyfriend took hold of her hand under the table, gently caressing it in an attempt to keep her calm.

The conversation at the table began to flow freely. Troy had already noted that Dan was a lot easier to talk to than Aaron had ever been, but he was still wary of the man, he didn't know him, and this man was going to be around Gabriella, it was too soon for him to be perfectly fine with that.

He felt her tense before he heard it, but the voice was unmistakeable as it cut through the restaurant. Turning around, he frowned, momentarily thankful that she hadn't followed his lead and was still staring ahead of herself. Aaron was standing at the entrance to the restaurant, his wife by his side. He hadn't seen them yet, but as Anna also spotted him, Troy knew a confrontation was inevitable.

"Mom," Gabriella stuttered quietly, knowing who was now there by only his voice, "Can we go?"

"No." Anna responded firmly, "I will not let that man ruin our night, besides we ordered dessert for everyone just before you came back in."

"But mom, he'll see me," she tried giving a reason, "he'll only make a scene."

"Then he'll get himself kicked out." Anna answered, her tone ending the discussion.

Slouching down in her seat, Gabriella turned around slowly, meeting the eyes of the man she really hadn't wanted to spot her, he was already looking over at the table, and it wasn't long before he began moving towards them, causing her to quickly turn and look directly at the table.

"Gabi," he greeted as he approached the table, "you haven't called me since you left, don't you think I deserve an explanation?"

Gabriella stayed quiet, willing for him to go away.

"Not going to talk to me?"

"Aaron." Anna was the first to speak up, her voice firm. "We are trying to have a family meal, and it would be greatly appreciated if you leave us in peace."

Aaron regarded his wife for what seemed like an eternity before turning back to the still unresponsive Gabriella. "I expect an explanation. Get back to me on that."

He stalked away from the table, and it wasn't until he was gone that Gabriella looked up to see the real reason he had left them alone, restaurant staff had been watching the interactions carefully, they would have asked him to leave if he had started anything.

She jumped slightly as Troy squeezed her knee, whispering comforting words in her ear. "He's gone now, I won't let him hurt you. You don't owe him anything."

- - -

"I hate this." Troy frowned, hugging his girlfriend tighter to him. "You know I'd stay if I could."

"I'll be okay." she whispered unconvincingly, attempting to reassure him, but he knew she was still shaken up over her father's presence at the restaurant.

"I hate that you're upset and I have to leave you."

"I'm not upset." She lied, "I'm fine, I'll see you first thing tomorrow."

"How come Dan can stay over and I can't?" he pouted, "I don't wanna go."

"Dan's dating my mom, of course she'll let him stay." Gabriella giggled slightly. "You, however, she would watch like a hawk."

"She trusts me," he claimed, "she knows I'd never take advantage of you."

"Ahhhh," she laughed slightly, knowing that the change in her mood would ease his fears, "the question is, would I take advantage of you?"

"I like that idea." He responded, chuckling as she rolled her eyes. "What? Is it wrong that I like the idea of you dominating me?"

She shook her head lightly, clearly amused, "See, these are the reasons my mother will not let you stay." He chuckled again, smirking as she continued to speak, "but I guess if you just happened to be passing by at say, 11, my balcony doors might be open."

"I'll be there."

"You better be. Tomorrow is Chad's turn."

He studied the serious expression on her face for a few moments, "you're bluffing."

She raised her eyebrows, attempting to keep a straight face, but it didn't take long for her to grin and nod.

"Bad girl." He commented, glancing over her shoulder as her mom appeared at the top of the stairs. "About to head off now, Anna. Not that I like it."

"You'll see me first thing tomorrow," Gabriella insisted, shooting him a tell tale look that she knew her mother could not see, "it's literally in a few hours time."

"I guess that'll have to do." he sighed, kissing her lighter than he wanted, the presence of her mother putting a dampener on things. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." She answered, smiling at his behaviour, leaning up, seeming to kiss him on the cheek as she whispered. "Keep the truck round the corner."

He nodded, sighing as he took a step out the door, "bye, baby."

She giggled as he walked down the path backwards, stumbling as he kept an eye on her, eventually making it to his truck, waving as a drove off.

- - - - - -

Gabriella rolled over, feeling a strange sensation wash over her, she knew without even opening her eyes that he was gone, but opened them all the same to confirm it to herself.

She smiled as she noticed the slip of paper on the pillow next to her, and reached out to grab it, opening it out to read it:

_When it came down to it, I couldn't bear to wake you up before I left, I'll pick you up normal time, we have a lot to talk about._

_T_

She frowned, pondering the note, "A lot to talk about,". She couldn't help but think that was his way of saying thing weren't going to work out, kept trying to convince herself that he wasn't going to break up with her. Was he mad at her because they hadn't gone further? Or did he regret how far they had gone?

She momentarily cursed her mother and Dan, if the man hadn't decided to go and check on his own home, and the older woman hadn't decided to go with him, last night probably wouldn't have happened, then there wouldn't be a note, and she wouldn't have been worried about the possible end of her relationship.

Sighing she made her way out of bed and into the bathroom, taking a long shower in an attempt to wash away the worry that had manifested in her, making her feel uneasy.

It was some thirty minutes later, after she had made her way downstairs and was sitting at the kitchen counter, that the doorbell rang. Her mother was not yet up, so she opened it herself, biting her lip at the sight of her smiling boyfriend on the other side.

His smile turned into a frown as he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, not wanting him to know how much she was hurting, she didn't want him keeping her around out of pity.

"Gabs?"

She sighed, "What did you mean?" She paused, frowning when she looked up to realise he had no idea what she was talking about. "In the note, you said we had a lot to talk about, what did you mean?"

"This isn't exactly where I was planning on telling you."

"Telling me what?" she snapped, pushing past him and out of the front door, slamming it behind her. "telling me it's over?"

"No!" He rushed, following her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, "I probably should have said this before last night, but what happened... it just makes it even more important that I tell you now."

"Tell me what?" she whispered, obviously unsure.

He spun her around in his arms, kissing her lightly, "I love you."

She gasped, shocked at his confession, sure he'd said it before, but never with that much sincerity in his voice, if she'd been doubting it before, she definitely wasn't anymore. "I love you too, so much it hurts."

"Gabs," he sighed, placing a hand on her cheek, "you don't get it." She frowned, confused, allowing him to continue. "I was sure I loved you before last night. But I didn't realise until then how much I really need you. I don't want to lose you, not now, not ever." She opened her mouth to interrupt but he placed a finger on her lips, silencing her as he pulled something out of his pocket.

Gabriella gasped at the sight of the ring on the chain, it looked like an antique, it must have cost a fortune, "Troy..."

"I know I haven't been the best boyfriend lately," he frowned at the memories as he turned her around, "but that's all going to change." He fastened the chain around her neck before allowing her to turn and face him again. "That ring was my grandmothers, she left it to me when she died, left it with the instruction that I give it to that one special person that makes me happy." He saw her tearing up, but the smile on her face left him relieved that for once she was crying out of happiness, "I want you to have it, you're it for me, Gabriella, there is no me without you."

"I..." she stuttered, trying hard to get her words out. "I... don't... I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." He whispered, kissing her lightly. "Just accept it."

- - - -

"You're happy." Taylor stated, sitting down next to her friend as she began her lunch break. "Weirdly happy."

Gabriella turned to her, unable to take the grin off of her face. "Everything's just falling into place."

"Falling into place?" Taylor frowned sceptically, "nothing just falls into place."

"Everything has though." Gabriella continued to smile as she glanced back in the other direction at her boyfriend, "everything is just perfect."

"Oh my god!" Taylor exclaimed. "The dreamy smile, the positive attitude, the renewed obsession with staring at your boyfriend. Chad said that Troy was deliriously happy too. You two did it, didn't you?"

"Nope." Gabriella denied, her gaze still intently on her boyfriend as he lifted two plates off of the counter. "No, we didn't." Turning around she laughed at the look on her friends face. "We got closer to it though. A lot closer."

"So, soon?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready yet, it's a big thing, he doesn't seem to mind though." Gabriella sighed, turning back again momentarily as she heard the doors shut. "He said that if he doesn't think I'm ready he won't let anything happen."

"Duh," Taylor responded, "This isn't just a fling to him."

"I know." Gabriella giggled happily, reaching up and pulling the chain out from under her jacket. "The ring was his grandmothers. You should have heard him Tay, it was so sweet, I had no idea what to say when he finished."

"He will never hear the end of this from Chad." Taylor pointed out. "Those weeks after the accident, all he went on about was how whipped Troy is right now, haven't you noticed, you get upset and he comes running, and now he's giving you family heirlooms, that's pretty major stuff."

"Right now..." Gabriella started, assuring that she had her friend's attention before continuing, "I have no idea how I ever doubted that he loves me."

- - - -

"Boring up here, huh?" Gabriella turned to the source of the voice, smiling as Ryan at down next to her.

"Good thing people aren't drowning though." She pointed out. "It may be boring, but no one's in any immediate danger."

"Shar's really sorry, you know." He cut to the chase, something she knew he was likely to do. "Dad won't let her come up here anymore, he actually threatened to disinherit her at one point, which would be totally fine if it wouldn't fall on me to look after her in the future."

"I know she is." Gabriella sighed, really not in the mood for that conversation. "But I could have lost my best friend that day, I may not be going to court, but I'm not going to retract my statement."

"I kinda guessed that." The boy admitted, deciding to quickly change the subject. "How are things with Troy?"

"Great." She smiled, glancing towards the building in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him outside, "Really great, actually."

"Did he tell you why he got his kitchen job back?"

"I never asked."

Ryan frowned slightly. "After, the, um, accident. Before you came back, he was really freaked out. As soon as he knew you were definitely coming back, he went to Fulton to ask." He analysed the brunettes reaction, continuing after assuring himself that she didn't already know this. "He seems to have this really strong desire to protect you, he told Fulton he needed the old job back so he could be closer to you."

"I'm kinda used to him being protective now." She admitted sheepishly. "I actually think I'm beginning to like it too."

"I should let you get back to work." Ryan insisted, standing up. "Not that Fulton would say anything about me distracting you, it's just, well, you know, dangers of the water, you have to be alert."

Gabriella frowned as he walked off without giving her a chance to respond, and she couldn't help but worry that perhaps her friend was mad at her for not pulling her statement.

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**Review!!! (I'll try to update quicker if you do.) - As always, best review gets a preview of the next chapter.**


	34. Possible Threat

**Guess who's back. The laptop has returned, the external hardrive broke though, so I've lost the IP epilogue, good thing I remember all that happened in it, I can re-write it, better, probably.**

**I started this before the last chapter of Impossible Perfection, so am not actually aware of why it's being posted after, maybe i'm just lazy.... ok i am.... mystery solved.**

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Gabriella frowned at the sight in front of her. She had no idea who the girl was, only that she was talking to her boyfriend, flicking her blonde hair out of her face. Knowing there must be some kind of an explanation, Gabriella moved off to the side, she didn't want him to see her and accuse her of spying on him. Unconsciously raising her hand, she fingered the ring hanging from her neck just over the 'T' that she refused to take off despite her boyfriend's best efforts. The blonde was laughing uncontrollably at something he had said, yet another action that told her the pair knew each other. She ducked back a bit as she saw him glance around, she was meant to be meeting him so they could leave together, but the sight of the other girl had caused her to temporarily forget that, but as his movement reminded her, she knew she had to go over to them.

Slowly, she walked towards them, unsure as to whether she even wanted to know what was going on. Biting her lip nervously, she stood at a small distance from them, knowing it wouldn't be long until he spotted her.

Troy's smile grew as he noticed her standing there, and he opened his arms to her, a gesture she couldn't help but smile at as she walked into them. He held her tight to him as he continued the conversation with the other girl, giving Gabriella time to survey the girl while they were both distracted.

"She's perfect." she listened to her boyfriend speak to the other girl, and felt both of their attention fall onto her as he chuckled. "Even when she zones out." Gabriella smiled, leaning further into him as she analysed the other girl's frown, her silence prompting her boyfriend to continue to speak. "She's never normally this shy."

"That's fine." The blonde responded, a bright smile returning to her face as she looked at him. " I'm told I can be intimidating." Her eyes never left Troy's as she introduced herself, "I'm Summer, Summer Hollins."

Gabriella shot her a small smile before hiding her face from view, giggling as Troy spoke, "I have no idea why she's acting like this."

"It's OK." She heard Summer reply. "I should probably get off. See you at school?"

Gabriella raised her head as she felt the girl move away. "Who was that?"

"Summer?" Troy questioned. "Summer's a friend, she moved away during freshman year, before you came, turns out her dad didn't like his new job, so they're moving back and she's finishing high school here. You ready to go?"

She noticed his quick change of subject and mentally noted to ask Taylor about this girl later on. "Yeah."

- - - - -

"Dude, are you gonna play or make out with your girlfriend?" Chad called over to his best friend, throwing the orange ball at the couple.

"Chad, you could have hit her!" Troy exclaimed as the ball bounced over their heads. "What the hell?"

"Whipped!" Chad responded. "Come on, let's get this game started."

"I never said I was playing." Troy answered, anger still evident in his eyes. "Why the hell would I play a game with someone who nearly hurt my girlfriend?"

"Troy, I'm okay." Gabriella soothed. "Go and play basketball, I'll be fine."

"One game." Troy answered, releasing Gabriella from his arms and standing up,his eyes remaining on her. "I'll be back."

As soon as he was gone, Gabriella turned to her friend. "Tay, what was Troy really like before I moved here?"

Taylor sighed, "shouldn't you ask him?"

"He won't tell me everything."

"What do you want to know?" Taylor asked. "What's brought this on?"

"Who's Summer?" Gabriella cut to the chase, not wanting to waste any time.

"Summer?" Taylor questioned, "as in Summer Hollins, Troy's ex girlfriend?"

"Ex girlfriend?" The words lingered on Gabriella's lips, 'ex girlfriend'. Why would he have kept that from her? "How much do you know about her?"

"She and Sharpay were like sisters, which is probably why when Summer left, Sharpay thought she'd get Troy." Taylor paused, taking in her friends expression before warily continuing. "Troy and Summer, well, she was his first ever serious girlfriend, and she loved him, when she moved, she wanted a long distance relationship. Problem was, he didn't love her, he liked her a lot, but, it wasn't love, and he never told her it was, he knew long distance wouldn't work out because of that, so he ended it. Gabi, why are you asking about Summer? How did you even find out about her? Troy must have his reasons for not telling you all this, however stupid they are."

"Summer was at Lava Springs earlier." Gabriella admitted. "They were talking, I don't know what about but it was obvious she didn't want me there."

Taylor's frown gave her thoughts away before she spoke them. "She has to be after something, most likely him." she paused to analyse her friend's face before continuing. "You don't need this now, not while you're clearly still struggling to trust him, but you do need to talk to him about this, I'll tell him I told you about her, OK? That way, he can explain it all to you, you really need to hear this from him."

Gabriella nodded, turning to watch her boyfriend dribbling the ball down the court. Slowly she stood up. "I'm gonna go inside."

Without waiting for a response she headed in, settling herself at the kitchen counter, watching her boyfriend's mother cook.

"You OK, sweetie?" Lucille asked as soon as she noticed her. "Not outside with the others?"

"It's a little too hot out there." She lied, opting to quickly change the subject. "Smells good."

"Southern Fried Chicken." Lucille answered. "Jack and Troy both love it."

"Yeah, Troy's mentioned it to me before." Gabriella admitted. "He won't ever admit it to you, but he loves your cooking."

"Are you staying for dinner?" Lucille asked. "There's plenty."

Before Gabriella could answer, a voice from the door answered for her. "Of course she is, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't let my girlfriend have southern fried chicken." His arms wrapped around her from behind as he rested his chin atop her head. "or if I didn't talk to her when she was upset?"

"God, she's fast." Gabriella commented, knowing that Taylor must have already spoken to him. "I know I should have asked you, but, I didn't want you to get mad."

"What's going on here?" Lucille questioned the couple. "You two aren't fighting again, are you?"

Troy ignored her, keeping his attention on his girlfriend. "I don't ever want you to worry about telling me something, whether I'm going to like it or not, I want, no, I need you to tell me, OK?"

Gabriella nodded, leaning back on his chest. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He whispered. "It's normal for you be confused after everything, I just need you to talk to me about it." She nodded, prompting him to speak again. "Now is as good as any time."

Gabriella glanced up at his mom, whom was still watching them intently, before answering the elder woman's question. "No, we're not fighting, just some stuff happened."

"Summer's back." Troy elaborated, knowing his mom would ask anyway.

The change in the atmosphere in the room became obvious the moment he uttered her name, and Gabriella was made aware that there was more to the story following Lucille's quick response. "You stay away from that girl, Troy, she's bad news."

"Mom." Troy responded, clearly amused. "Why would I go for a hamburger when I've got steak right here?"

"I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted by that." Gabriella smiled in response. "I'm not food."

Troy laughed, taking hold of her hand and pulling her up. "We'll be upstairs, try and keep the guys,

specifically Chad, down here, okay mom?"

Lucille shot him a warning look, and he rolled his eyes at the double meaning before leading his girlfriend upstairs.

He closed his bedroom door behind them as they entered, knowing that one of his friends would eventually try to find them.

"Taylor said you have questions." He began, knowing she'd try and avoid as much as she could. "She also said that not knowing the answers to these questions is upsetting you."

The intensity in his gaze prevented her from avoiding talking. "Why didn't you tell me that she was your ex-girlfriend?"

He sighed, settling her on the bed and kneeling down next to her. "It's not important. That was over a long time ago. What I had with her was nothing compared to what I have with you. I didn't think it was important."

"But what if she..." His stern but soft gaze stopped her.

"I don't care what she does, or what she wants." He assured her. "She's not you. What she wants is not my problem." He sat next to her. "Come here," He gently pulled her onto his lap. " What Taylor told you is true. Summer is an ex. I didn't love her. I have only ever felt this way about you. When I was with Summer, I could go days without seeing her and it wouldn't bother me, but now, with you, it's like I have this obsessive need to know where you are all the time." He smiled as she cuddled further into his arms. "I need you to promise me something." He blurted out, continuing as soon as she nodded. "I know what Summer's like, if she does anything to upset you, or hurt you or anything, you have to tell me, you can't try and hide it for any reason."

"Why would she do anything?" Gabriella questioned. "Just because I feel like there's something off about her doesn't mean she'll try anything."

"I can't take that chance." he insisted. "If she does or says anything, you have to tell me. I can't let you get hurt again. The last time I wasn't there for you, Taylor ended up in hospital saving you. If I hadn't of been so distracted, so obsessed with this scholarship, I would never have gone off with Sharpay, she wouldn't of done what she did, and neither you or Taylor would have gotten hurt. You have to tell me. You have to tell me because I can't let it happen again, and I don't know what Summer's capable of."

"You didn't know that Sharpay would do that." She commented. "It wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault, Gabs. I left you." He was adamant, setting her back down on the bed and standing up. "I wasn't there and you needed me."

"I forgave you for that."

"You shouldn't have." He shot back, flinching against his own words and softening his tone. "I didn't deserve your forgiveness. I don't understand why you even did forgive me." He paused, then tried to make light of the situation. "Summer's only been back five minutes and she's already done this."

He sighed as she stood up and quickly approached him, wrapping her arms around him. "Don't you ever say I shouldn't have forgiven you."

"I hurt you." He whispered. "You have no idea how much it kills me to live with that. I don't know what to feel. Guilty because it happened, or relieved because you took me back. I'm always going to be angry at myself for it, though." He returned the hug, rubbing her back comfortingly. "It's my fault that you're having these doubts, that you're questioning things. Please remember that I love you."

"I know you do." She whispered. "I love you too."

The door swung open to the sound of his best friends voice. "DUDE, QUIT MAKING OUT WE HAVEN'T FINI..." He paused, taking in their proximity to each other before continuing. "A hug, you left our game for a hug, I mean, if you were making out I guess I could kind of understand it, but a hug..."

"Chad, shut up." Troy demanded. "You know she comes first, bro. She needed to talk, and no, i'm not telling you what about."

"We're just about finished up." Gabriella told him softly, still wrapped in her boyfriends arms. "We'll be down in a minute."

"You better be." Chad muttered, watching them suspiciously as he backed out of the room, leaving the door ajar, shouting back at them. "No funny business, this is game time."

- - -

"Who's that?" Troy questioned as he pulled up in front of his girlfriends house, gesturing towards the unfamiliar car. "It's not your dad, is it? Because we don't have to go in yet. We can drive around for a while."

"I don't think so." Gabriella answered. "He owns the car he has down here. That one's a rental, look." She climbed out of the truck, not surprised when he copied her action. He always walked her to the door at least, and it was still relatively early.

She heard light talking coming from the living room when she opened the door and dropped her bag on the floor, kicking it to the side. She reached for her boyfriend's hand, smiling when he took it almost immediately, and led him towards the sound.

The sight from the open door made her grin. Violet and Tyler were sitting next to each other, their mother next to them, their father in another chair speaking animatedly to her mother and Dan.

"I thought you weren't coming until the end of the week!" She exclaimed, the first indication to them that she had entered the room. "I would have come home earlier if I'd known."

"No you wouldn't have." Anna smiled, "You would have planned to then lost track of time."

"Who's the hottie?" Violet asked without greeting her, standing up expectantly. "And why have I not seen pictures before now?"

"Vi! Gabriella announced, releasing her boyfriend's hand and running to hug her friend. "I missed you so much."

"And again, I am a plant." Tyler joked, holding open his arms. "Not feeling the love over here."

Gabriella smiled and ran into his arms, letting him hug her briefly before heading back to her boyfriend, pulling him further into the room. "You guys. This is Troy." She turned to her boyfriend, pouting at him. "You can stay for a while, right?"

"Not the pout." He complained. "You know I can't say no to the pout." She persisted, grinning as he sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay, I guess I can stay for a little while."

"Yay." She cheered, letting him pull her to him, but frowning as she saw the slight glare he shot at Tyler. She turned to her friends. "How long are you here for?"

"Here as in Albuquerque or here as in your house?" Tyler asked. "Because we're in Albuquerque until next Friday, we have to go back for school. Your house we're probably leaving in the next hour or so."

"You, You and you." Gabriella demanded to her friends and boyfriend. "My room, we have serious catching up to do."

She escaped from Troy's arms, running excitedly from the room and up the stairs.

"I''ll show them where that is then." Troy called after her, smiling as she giggled in response. "Come on."

As soon as he entered the room, Gabriella jumped into his arms, frowning when he refused to put her down.

"You might hurt yourself in all the excitement." He explained. "And I can't have that."

He sat down on the edge of her bed, smiling as she instinctively curled up on his lap, resting her head on his chest.

"You were never this cute with Matt." Violet commented, settling herself on the floor as her brother leaned against a wall.

Gabriella felt her boyfriend tense, she'd told him about Matt, and the name alone made him angry.

"It's OK." She whispered. "He's not here, i'm OK." She changed her tone, speaking so her friends could hear. "Troy's nothing like Matt. He cares about me for me, not for who I was friends with."

"If that guy ever comes around here." Troy directed his words at Violet and Tyler. "I'll kill him. You tell him that."

"Protective much?" Violet smirked. "You don't even know they guy."

"I know that he tried to force her to sleep with him." Troy retorted. "I know that he tried to force himself on her when she wasn't ready."

"He never admitted to that." Violet informed him. "Nothing can be proven."

"I saw him, Vi." Tyler finally spoke up. "If I hadn't of been there he may have actually done it. You may have forgiven him. But i'm closer to Gabs than you are. She's one of my best friends. I'll never forgive him for it."

Troy frowned as he looked down at his girlfriend, her head buried firmly in the crook of his neck, her eyes covered. She was crying. He knew that this particular incident wasn't something she liked to be reminded of. She'd only told him because she thought he should know. Thought that he'd understand better if she closed off when they got to that stage. He felt a surge of hatred towards Violet for bringing up Matt. If she hadn't of mentioned Matt, he wouldn't have gotten angry, and Gabriella wouldn't have wound up crying.

He rubbed her back in a soothing motion, shaking his head at the other teenage girl. "Was it really necessary for you to bring him up?"

"He misses her." Violet stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Yes, I get that he hurt her, but he's my friend too. He just wants to know how she is."

"He doesn't deserve to know anything." Troy retorted, tightening his arms around her. "Did you come here purposely to upset her?"

"Look." Violet sighed. "I didn't mean to upset her, but I promised him I'd tell her that he still loves her, that he wants to try again, long distance if they have to."

Gabriella's body tensed further in his arms, but slowly she lifted her head to face her friend. "Tell him if I ever so much as speak to him again, it'll be too soon. Tell him I hate him, that I've moved on. Tell him I have something more real than what I ever had with him. Tell him i'm in love, in love with another guy, someone who loves me back for me and cares about more than getting laid."

Troy pressed his lips to her hair, knowing the gesture would comfort her at least a little, and he smiled softly as she slowly began to relax.

"So now I have to deal with moping Matt." Violet grimaced. "Wonderful."

"Sucks for you." Troy commented. His smile growing as he heard his girlfriend chuckle lightly. "Don't see how that's our problem though."

"The guy is in love with your girlfriend." Violet exclaimed. "Aren't you at least meant to care."

"Why?" Troy questioned. "He's not exactly much of a threat, I've seen pictures." He smirked, and then added for good measure. "Besides, he doesn't love her. He wants her because he can't have her, there is no way in hell that i'm ever letting go."

"He doesn't even know you exist." Violet tried informing him. "So how would he know she's off the market."

"Erm, Milo told him, actually." Tyler cut in again. "After the last time we spoke to Gabs."

"How is Milo?" Gabriella directed the question at Tyler. "And everyone else, how are they?"

"Milo has a girlfriend." Tyler informed her. "Taryn something or other, can't say I pay much attention. Jessie, she's good, been kinda lost without you though, you really need to call her more. Connor's still focused on track. Hannah's doing great academically, not so great in gym. Kayla, well you know Kayla, she's still pretending that her parents divorce doesn't bother her, but we all know it does."

"I will call them." Gabriella promised. "Especially Jessie." She paused, thinking. "And Kayla, I might be able to give her some insight. Everything's just been so hectic here."

"What about you?" Tyler quizzed. "You haven't said much, what's going on with you?"

"Right now, mostly work." She answered honestly. "When school's in session, I have scholastic decathlon, basketball games and, well, drama club."

"Drama club." Tyler laughed. "Hannah is gonna have a field day with that."

They were interrupted by the sound of Violet's phone, Tyler rolling his eyes at the sound.

"Hey." She answered it. "Yeah, i'm with her right now.... Yeah I told her..... I don't think that's a good idea.... She's not your girlfriend..... Matt..... Matt stop..... OK." She held out the phone to Gabriella. "He wants to speak to you."

Gabriella cautiously took the phone, placing it by her ear, making it easy for her boyfriend to listen in. "Hello?"

"Brie." Matt's voice came from the other end of the line. "It's really you."

"Yep." She confirmed, cuddling further into her boyfriend.

"I miss you." He was muttering, but she heard it clearly. "I really do."

"I don't care." She sighed. "I'm happy now, you can't keep emailing me, you have to leave me alone."

She frowned as she felt her boyfriend tense as she mentioned the emails, and could feel his questioning gaze on her.

"Didn't you listen to a single thing I said in those?"

"I don't read them." She admitted. "What's done is done."

"Gabriella." His tone was harsh. "I'm a guy, i'm hormonal, and you were holding out, what was I meant to do."

"Wait for me." She whispered, pressing herself even closer to her boyfriend. "But you couldn't do that. I wasn't ready and you tried to force me. Troy, he won't hurt me, not like you did." She smiled as her boyfriend softly kissed her head in response to her subtle compliment. "You have to leave me alone."

She quickly handed the phone back to Violet, but even the distance between herself and the object didn't prevent her from hearing his yells, his threats, she'd be lying if she said she was surprised by his outburst.

"Emails?" She heard her boyfriends almost silent and questioning tone and automatically knew that he wasn't mad, just concerned. "You don't have to hide things like that from me."

"I thought you'd be mad." She whispered in response, knowing her friends were oblivious, arguing on the phone with Matt. "I don't like it when you're mad at me."

"Mad at you?" His question was only distinguishable to her, it sounded more like a statement. "Why would I be mad at you? You can't stop him from emailing you."

The room grew silent as Violet and Tyler were called downstairs.

She smiled as they left the room, climbing out of Troy's arms and laying back on her bed. "I'm gonna call Jessie."

"Gab?" She heard the shock in her friends voice as the call was answered.

"Don't sound so shocked." Gabriella pouted in jest. "I'm offended that you assumed I'd never call."

"Are Vi and Ty there?"

"They just left."

"So you're alone?"

"No, Troy's here. Staring at me."

"Troy? That's your boyfriend, right?"

"That's the one."

"Doesn't he mind you calling me?" Jessie asked. "You never called anyone when you were alone with Matt."

"Nah. He doesn't mind." Gabriella assured her. "He just likes staring at me."

"How could I not want to stare at you." He smirked. "You're gorgeous, and you are actually teasing me right now, how can I concentrate on anything with you in that position, staring up at me."

She giggled before speaking into the phone. "He's whining because he thinks i'm teasing him."

"Are you teasing him?"

"Yep." Gabriella admitted. "He makes it so easy."

"Sounds great." Jessica answered. "You have to send me a picture or something, and come and visit at some point, would your mom let you do that?"

"I don't know." Gabriella bit her lip in curiosity. "He'd insist on coming with though."

"Protective?"

"Very."

"Gab." Jessica sighed. "I'm sorry, I know you just called and everything, but mom's giving me hassle, she told my aunt I'd look after my cousin's tonight."

"It's okay, I'll email you later." Gabriella smiled, quickly adding. "Promise."

She smiled as she hung up, turning to her boyfriend. "You know, it's funny."

"What's funny?"

"I found everything when I moved here." Gabriella elaborated. "You, amazing friends, my grandparents. I had no idea mom even grew up here until I found my grandparents and those articles. I have no idea why she decided to move back here, but i'm glad she did."

"I'm glad she did too." He told her truthfully, laying next to her and pulling her into his arms. "You and me, forever, okay?"

Okay." she giggled. "Does that mean we can't even pull a Ross and Rachel and take a break?"

"That's exactly what it means." He laughed. "We won't need to take breaks, because we're going to talk everything through. Everything."

He smiled as she curled up in his arms, ending the conversation with one comment. "You're warm."

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**Review!!! (and i'll try to update faster)**


	35. Charms

"I'm bored." Troy announced, smiling at the giggle that followed. "Still bored."

"Five more minutes baby." Responded his girlfriend, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. "Just five minutes."

"You said that five hours ago." He answered. "What are you doing in there?"

"I wasn't even awake five hours ago." She laughed. "What do you think i'm doing in here? It's a changing room."

"They're only fun if i'm in there with you."

"Pervert."

"No straight, living, breathing male would blame me." He smirked, before checking his watch. "It's been five minutes."

"It's barely been a minute." She complained. "Shush mister, you know I do all of this for you."

"Is that why I pay for it?"

"No." She answered, her tone telling him she was rolling her eyes. "You pay for it because you're an ass and won't let me pay."

"Back when our parents were our age, it was called being a gentleman." He corrected her. "As the male in this relationship, I have to provide."

"So me paying would hurt your male ego?" She laughed again. "Do irreparable damage to your pride?"

"Exactly." He responded.

"Hmm." She pondered. "Plus you like seeing me in this stuff."

"Plus I like seeing you in that stuff." He agreed, before thinking back to what she had picked up. "Hey, I didn't see any bikini's in that pile!"

"No, silly." She giggled. "That's the next store."

"I'm really having second thoughts right now." He admitted to her. "How did you convince me to go shopping with you again?"

"Sexual favours." She raised her voice, making him turn quickly, to see, to his dismay, a woman around the age of his mother looking over at him disapprovingly.

"You said that on purpose." He accused.

"How many people looked?" She questioned. "Did you get some dirty looks?"

"Yes." He answered. "And now you have to pay."

"Is that a promise?" She giggled again and he shook his head, thinking about how much had changed in the past month. There was no way she'd have been this open with their relationship in public before the summer.

He glanced around the store, noting that the disapproving woman was still nearby, before turning back as he heard the movement of the curtain, smiling as his girlfriend stood in front of him.

"All done." She smiled. "There's not one thing I can put back without feeling guilty, but it costs so much."

"It's on me." He decided to point out, smirking at the pout from her that followed. "We agreed."

"No." She answered. "You agreed. You didn't give me a choice. Besides, you need your money for college more than I do. Especially now my grandparents have insisted on paying tuition and everything for me."

"I still can't believe your mom agreed."

"They put up a fair argument." Gabriella explained once again. "If mom had been in contact with them, I would have been in private schools like she was, which i'm so glad I wasn't, they still want me to have the money and that's the only thing I need right now. They also said that I'd be getting everything in the end eventually, why not start now?"

"I don't know how to trust them, Gab." he admitted. "They're here now because it suits them. Your mom made a mistake once and they ditched her, what happens when you make a mistake?"

"I've thought about it." She admitted. "And the thought of losing them scares the hell out of me. I only just found them. But if they ditch me for making a mistake, then they're not worth it, and I'll still have mom and Dan, and you. I'll still have friends."

"It's not that easy." He insisted. "I can't see you all torn up again. Not like you were over your dad. Your grandparents may have put your name as a beneficiary on their wills now, but they can take it off just as quick."

"Actually." She sighed. "I've always been down as a beneficiary. Ever since I was a baby. I just, didn't know."

He frowned, before wrapping an arm around her and leading her to the front of the store to pay. "I still don't trust them."

"I don't expect you to." She informed him. "Not with you being insanely overprotective, anyone would think you were my brother."

"Not funny." He commented, pulling out his wallet. "How much should this come to?"

"None of your business." She stuck her tongue out playfully. "I'm paying."

"Gab." He stated. "My ego, remember? I have to pay."

She smirked before darting forward, running ahead, calling back, "No you don't."

TROY set the tray of food on the table before sitting down opposite his girlfriend and taking in her expression. "What?"

"How much did you get?" She quizzed, her eyes wide at the sight of the amount of food. "You are aware that there's only two of us, right?"

"If lunch is all you're letting me pay for." He began, sitting up straighter. "Then lunch shall be expensive."

"There is no way that we'll eat all of this." She frowned. "You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being a boyfriend." He smiled. "Spoiling is part of the job description."

"You basically just wasted your money though." She pointed out, gesturing to the food in front of them. "Way too much for just us."

"Then we'll take what's left to Chad." He grinned. "As long as you get what you want, that's all that matters to me."

"And there was me thinking you got us the day off for selfish reasons." She responded, smirking. "This was about what I need?"

"Yes." He confirmed. "What you need and my desire for some alone time."

"So there was a selfish motive."

"Until you decided you wanted to spend our day of shopping, yes, there was a selfish motive."

"Oh." She bit her lip to prevent laughter. "So you're saying that if you knew I'd want to come shopping, you wouldn't have wanted to spend time with me?"

"I still would have wanted to." He elaborated. "I just would have made plans so we weren't shopping."

"I like shopping." She informed him. "I like shopping almost as much as I like you."

"Like me?" Grinning at the comment. "You only like me?"

"I love you." She corrected herself. "You know that."

"I've heard." He smirked, watching as she gasped and hit him playfully in the chest. "I love you too."

"Thank you." She settled down again, satisfied with his words.

"Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots..."

"Okay, I get it." She interrupted. "People will stare."

"And then everyone will know how much I love you." He grinned. "Sounds like a great idea."

"You're crazy."

"But you love me," He answered. "You admitted it."

"Yes, I did." She answered. "I can't even begin to fathom why, though."

"SINCE when were you better at this than me?" Troy quizzed, narrowing his eyes at her before looking up at the screen. "How many strikes is that now?"

"Four." She answered, turning to him. "Don't worry, I'll let you win next time."

"How do you know that I'M not letting you win now?" he asked, teasing her with his expression.

She turned, raising her eyebrows. "Because you never LET me win."

"You hungry?"

"No, Troy." She scolded. "You will not buy more food just because i'm not letting you pay for anything else."

"I'm just gonna have to come back tomorrow after work, then get back to pick you up before you realise I've gone." He sighed. "It seems to be the only way that I'll be able to get you presents."

"No presents." She reprimanded, striding over to him, gasping slightly when he immediately placed his hands on either side of her waist. "No spending money on me."

He pulled her closer. "That would make the rest of my life increasingly difficult. So i'm gonna have to go with lots of presents."

"No." She forbade, holding up a finger in warning. "No presents, no buying me anything."

"Not even this?" He quizzed, releasing her and pulling a box out of his pocket, opening it in front of her. "Because I really don't think it would look as good on me."

"When did you get this?" She questioned, slowly taking the box from his hands, admiring the jewellery. "I've been with you all day."

"Remember when you were in the changing rooms at that second store?" She nodded. "I told you I was going to the bathroom, I actually went to pick this up."

"It's beautiful." She commented, her eyes unable to leave the charm bracelet in front of her.

"You said once," he began, "that you'd always wanted one, but your mom always said you were too young."

"You remembered." She sighed happily. "I didn't expect you to."

"Of course I remembered." He smiled. "I ordered that a few weeks ago, got a call to say it was ready this morning, that's why I insisted on going out today, I knew you'd want to shop, giving me the chance to pick it up."

"Ordered?" She frowned, finally looking up at him. "Weeks? You can normally just get them straight away."

He reached out, caressing her cheek. "Look at the charms."

She obeyed, fingering each of the charms separately, a heart, an angel, and the number fourteen.

"I figured I'd buy you more, for Christmas and that."

"You don't have too." She assured him, her eyes still firmly on the miniature 14 between her fingers. "I didn't know they even had this as a charm."

"They didn't." He admitted, moving his hand away from her face. "I asked the jeweller specifically. Fourteen, it's not just a good number for me, it's kinda been a good number for us, too." She giggled, but stayed silent as she knew he wasn't done. "Chad interrupted us thirteen times before we first kissed, the fourteenth time was the charm, and it was worth it. Valentines day is the fourteenth, and also, coincidently, happens to be the day we went on our first date. And something that you've told me on many occasions, Albuquerque is the fourteenth place you've lived in your life, not including when your mom lived here when she was pregnant."

"It's too much." she whispered, more to herself, before finally looking up at him. "Just when I think you can't get any sweeter."

"Shhhh" he joked. "I have a reputation, I'm not sweet, i'm manly."

"Our secret." She smiled, looking down at the box and taking out the bracelet, threading it between her fingers. "This really is beautiful."

"Almost as beautiful as you." He responded, before deciding to explain the other charms. "The angel means that your life will be blessed, kinda like you've blessed my life. The heart signifies true love, I like to think we already have that."

"You're so cheesy." She giggled, replacing the bracelet back in it's case. "I love it, thank you."

"It's the least I owed you." He answered, reaching out and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Come on, lets finish this game."

GABRIELLA frowned as she glanced around the formally dressed adults in the room, her mother was around somewhere, but she hadn't seen her since she had wandered off soon after they arrived.

She smiled as she saw Troy being led out of her grandfather's study, himself also formally dressed.

He walked straight over to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to him. "He scares me."

"What was that about?" She quizzed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"He wanted to know about my plans for the future." He elaborated. "Something about needing to know that I can provide for you." He paused. "Then he asked if i'm planning on proposing any time soon."

"Oh my god, really?" She gasped, shocked even more as he nodded. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he'd ask that."

"It's okay." He assured her. "I just told him that we're both a bit too young right now, but as soon as the time is right, I'd ask your mom."

"What did he say?"

Her nerves were obvious to him as he answered. "He thinks that that is a very sensible decision."

"Ah, sweetheart." They heard Sofia as she approached them from behind, placing a hand on Gabriella's shoulder and turning her around. "Gabriella, sweetie, this is Carla Forrester, a good friend of mine, , this is my granddaughter."

"Nice to meet you, dear." Carla responded, not noticing the teen girl's shock at her grandmother actually introducing her in that way, she hadn't before. The other woman glanced over at Troy. "And who is this?"

"This is her boyfriend, Troy." Sofia gushed. "Isn't he handsome?"

"Very." Carla commented, and Gabriella felt him shift uncomfortably by her side. "I'd best get back to my husband. You know what these men are like Sofia, can't leave them alone for five minutes. Bye you two."

They watched as Carla walked away.

"I can't stand that woman." Sofia commented as soon as she was out of earshot. "Heaven knows why your grandfather invited her. Utterly infuriating." She surveyed her granddaughter quickly. "That is a lovely dress, is it new?"

"Um... Yes." Gabriella answered. "I got it earlier today actually."

"You have good taste." Sofia approved. "An eye for these things so to speak." She paused, an uncomfortable silence coming over them. "Anyway, I'd best get back to the guests."

Troy turned towards his girlfriend, smiling as her grandmother walked away. "Isn't this party great?"

"What I want to know is why so impromptu?" She responded. "Hours ago we were out having fun, just the two of us, then my mom calls and tells me that i'm expected at a party at my grandparents house, and they expect you to be there too. What happened to notice?"

He watched as she yawned. "Are you tired?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night." She excused. "Having neighbours sucks."

"You want to go home?" He asked, concerned. "You need your sleep."

"I'm expected to stay." She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder once again. "They expect me to stay."

"You need to go home." He decided, glancing around the room and leading her over to her mother. "You're tired and you need to sleep." He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Anna." He waited until the older woman turned to him. "She's tired, i'm gonna take her home, okay?"

"Okay." Anna agreed. "I'll tell my parents, just look after her, make sure she sleeps, you got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"SHE asleep?"

Troy looked up at the sound of Anna's voice before turning back to his sleeping girlfriend. "Yeah, she was really flat out."

"She's been having nightmares." Anna informed him. "I don't know if she told you."

He frowned. "She told me the neighbours were loud."

"They are." Anna confirmed. "But she can sleep through anything. She won't talk to me about them, can you try?"

"Yeah." He agreed, caressing the sleeping girl's face. "I'll try."

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**Sorry it took so long, the aim was to get both stories updated tonight, but it's just gone 2am here, i'm tired and this one really needed the update (plus, I had more written). I've been working on both this chapter, and the last few IP chapters for months, but what with exams, homework, voluntary work, clubs and everything, it's kinda hard to just sit and write now but I'll try and do better.**

**I've now officially left school, will only be going back for exams (and revision lessons). Kinda sad, but I'll live.**

**Anyways, review.**


	36. Care

**Okay, a longer wait for the end of IP, I'm hopping over to this one, it's in more need of an update. I'll be right back to finishing IP soonish (when I feel like it).**

**This isn't the longest or the best chapter ever, and it's fluffy and kind of shorter than I wanted, but that seemed like the right place to leave it off.**

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Gabriella cuddled further into Troy's side at the sight of the blonde girl standing just outside the doors of the main building to the country club. She couldn't help but feel intimidated at the sight of her boyfriend's ex. Summer was gorgeous. She could have had any guy she wanted. They were all looking at her. Yet, the blonde's gaze was focused firmly on Troy as they approached.

"Hey." She grinned perkily, stepping in front of their path. "I was wondering if we could meet for lunch, we have so much to catch up on a figured, why wait until school?"

Gabriella froze, flinching when her boyfriend tensed up seconds later. He'd noticed her reaction.

"Gab and I already have plans." He lied, reasoning that they probably would have lunch together anyway. "Sorry. We can catch up some other time maybe?"

"Sure." Summer gave a fake smile. "Tomorrow maybe? I can come whenever you want."

"I think we have plans tomorrow too." He started, looking down at his girlfriend. "Isn't it tomorrow that you're coming to mine for dinner?"

Gabriella nodded, understanding what he was trying to do. "Yeah, tomorrow."

He looked back up at Summer. "Mom's been going on and on about how she never sees her, figured we'd put in an appearance."

He didn't wait for a response, knowing that Summer knew all too well that his mother didn't like her, he just quickly stepped around her and led his girlfriend inside towards their respective locker rooms.

He leant down, placing a soft kiss on her crown as they walked, the soothing gesture a clear attempt to comfort her. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I just need to get used to her being here."

He sat her down when they reached the kitchen, glancing around to see the almost empty room. No one was listening to their conversation, and their friends had obviously seen the seriousness in his eyes and decided to keep their distance.

"Gab." He waited until she looked up at him. "You haven't been sleeping."

She let out a frustrated groan, frowning as she observed him. "I am. Mom's just worrying too much." She flinched as he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. He always did know when she was lying. "The neighbours are really noisy."

"Gabs." He repeated. "What did I say?" She didn't answer, so he reminded her himself. "I said that I need you to tell me things, because I can't read your mind." She nodded, but continued to stubbornly refuse to open up. "What's going on?"

"It's no big deal." She tried, frowning as he sighed once again, placing his arms either side of her, trapping her in place. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid if it's stopping you from sleeping." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, encouraging her to open up. "Talk to me."

"I just..." She tried, trailing off as she watched him. "I sleep better when you're there." She couldn't help but smile at the grin that broke out on his face. "It's not funny, it's pathetic and desperate, but, I don't know, I guess after everything, I just feel safer. If you're there I don't have nightmares."

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her up from the stool and into his arms. "You need me to be there when you go to sleep?" She nodded, making him chuckle slightly. "All you had to do was ask, you know."

"You can't be there every night." She complained, pulling back from him slightly. "My mom and your parents wouldn't let you, and it's not fair for you to have to stay at mine until I'm asleep and then go home really late."

"I'll figure something out." He promised, smiling softly. "Whatever you need, remember?" His smile dropped as he considered the other part of her statement. "What nightmares?"

She turned away from him, not wanting to see the look that she knew would be evident on his face. "Everyone leaves me. My dad, Taylor, you, even mom. Everyone leaves."

She felt his grip tighten. "I will never leave you, okay?" His voice was strong and certain. "Not for anything. Not again." The flinch following the final words was so small she almost didn't notice, but she knew him. "Your mom isn't going anywhere either, I can't speak for Taylor but I doubt she's planning on leaving you behind, you're her best friend. Your dad." He paused. "You're better off without him. You don't need him. It's his loss."

"I'm sorry I keep bringing this up." She frowned, feeling his fingers brush her chin, gently making her look at him. "It must be getting old."

"Hey." He sighed, running a hand through her hair. "If you need to talk about it, you need to talk about it. I'm here. If that's what you want to talk about, then it's what we'll talk about, okay?"

She smiled softly. "Okay."

"You'll tell me if you have anymore nightmares?" He asked. "Promise."

She nodded. "Promise." She hesitated. "I don't have them if you're there."

He brushed another kiss in her hair. "I told you, I'll figure something out."

"I can't ask you to be there every night." She complained again. "It's not fair."

"You're not asking." He chuckled, standing her up and pulling her into his body, holding her tightly to him. "I said I'd figure something out, and I will. I can't have you all sleep deprived now, can I?" He caught a glimpse of silver as she moved her arm up to his shoulder, attempting to twist in his arms to face him. Catching her hand, he smiled. "You can't wear this while you're working, you know." He fingered the charm bracelet on her wrist. "Don't want it getting lost."

"I don't want to take it off." She pouted, watching as he played with the bracelet before entwining their fingers. "Maybe I should have left it at home, it would have been safer." She looked up at him. "Mom loves it, by the way. ."

"She does?" He asked, watching as she nodded. "Have I managed to redeem myself with her?" He almost chuckled at her curious look. "Your mom has been a bit off with me since the whole Sharpay thing. I pretended not to notice, but she was."

"Oh, you noticed that." Gabriella bit her lip. "I was kind of hoping you hadn't."

"It's good." He assured her. "I kind of expected it. I'd be more weirded out if she hadn't been a little off with me for a while."

"She's just, protective." She pointed out. "She's okay now though. I think she is anyway. She did let you take me home the other day. Is that when she asked you about the sleeping? Just before we left?"

He nodded. "She's worried."

"She doesn't need to be." She pulled back slightly. "I'm fine."

"That's all I want." He commented, unsure as to whether or not he believed her. " I wasn't lying earlier. My mom really does want to see you. She says you don't come round enough."

Gabriella laughed. "I was there last week!"

"I think she means on your own, without all of the others there." He clarified. "You know, you come over while I'm watching the game with my dad and you and mom have conversations about stuff I don't even understand. I think she misses it."

"I miss it too." She admitted. "It's been a while."

"Saturday?" He asked. "There's no game, but I'm sure dad and I can find something to do for a couple of hours."

She nodded in agreement. "As long as your mom doesn't already have plans."

**-MIR-**

"I might be in a little bit of trouble."

Gabriella turned at the familiar voice, giving a weak smile at the sight of the man who had been standing behind her. "How so?"

"I used my real name to get in here." He confessed. "You know, cops are probably still looking out for my name appearing anywhere."

"How would that get you into trouble?" She queried. "You had a reason for not coming forward, right?"

"All the same." He commented. "It'll cause trouble with your dad."

"Don't call him that." She complained. "He's never been much of a father, and he doesn't deserve the chance. Not with me anyway."

""Gotcha." He responded. "He's going back to California anyway."

"Are you going too?"

"Not if I can avoid it." He changed the subject. "How's your mom?"

"Uncle Michael." Gabriella sighed. " Why don't you just tell the police what happened? They can't do anything to you anymore."

He frowned. "I made a deal, kid. They let your mom go, they kept me, and I cooperated."

"So why are you here?" She asked. "If there's nothing you can do?"

"Am I not allowed to see my niece?" He smiled faintly. "Still trying to get used to that word. Anna was 8 when I last saw her."

"You could come and see her again." Gabriella suggested. "She'd love to see you, so would your parents. She keeps asking me how I know you're okay. You have to let me tell her." He stayed quiet. "I told her what you did." She paused. "Not about Aaron, just about how you made them let her go in exchange for cooperation." He stayed silent, watching her carefully. "She gets it, I think, but she still has questions. I don't even know if she believes me, I think she does."

"We'll see what happens, okay?" He decided. "If I can figure out a way to stay. I'll see her. It wouldn't be fair to do that to her if I can't stay."

"It's okay to do this to me?"

"Gabriella." He warned. "You know that Aaron didn't give me a choice."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a collection of envelopes, holding it out to her. "Birthday cards. For your mom. One for every year I've been gone."

She took the envelopes from him, letting her hand drop by her side. "They won't stop her asking questions."

"It's all I can do right now." He checked his watch. "I should be going. Meant to be watching Alex this afternoon."

Gabriella nodded. "Bye."

"For now." Michael added. "I'll figure it out, okay."

She nodded again. "Okay."

He gave her an awkward one armed hug that almost made her smile before he walked away. He wasn't used to having a niece.

**-MIR-**

Gabriella shifted comfortably in her boyfriends arms, exhausted after her day at work. She was focusing on the movie currently blaring from the TV screen, well aware that he himself was not. He very rarely actually watched the movies they put on, he always said that he preferred to watch her and the funny facial expressions she made as a response to what was happening on the screen.

"You're watching me again." She stated, her eyes remaining on the screen. "You're missing the movie. Again."

"It's a bad movie."

He was right. "How would you know? You're not watching it."

"You get this look on your face when you think a movie is bad." He smiled. "You play with your hair a lot more, and you start to daydream."

She giggled. "You watch me way too much." Moving closer to him, she slipped a hand under his shirt, intent on resting it on the skin of his stomach, glancing up at him in curiousity when she did. "Troy." She paused, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Why are you wearing two shirts?"

"Because." He began, chuckling slightly. "As much as your neighbours love me, I don't think they want to see me walk out of here shirtless later tonight."

"Why would you be doing that?"

He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "I'm leaving one of these here." He ran a hand through her hair. "Just to see if it helps you sleep any better." He paused, taking in her reaction. "It could work."

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "What did you do?"

"What?"

"You're being sweet." Gabriella pointed out. "You didn't do anything weird?"

He laughed. "No, I didn't do anything weird. I just want you sleeping properly."

"Maybe Chad's right." She smirked, turning back to the movie. "Maybe you are whipped."

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**Review?**


	37. Freedom

**I know I said there was a few more chapters in this, but this is where I'm ending it. I went over everything I wanted in it, realised that some of it was too random, and when I finished writing this it seemed like a logical end. There won't be a sequel. I don't really think it needs one. I might add an epilogue at some point. I'll try and get round to it, but things are pretty hectic.**

**Despite saying I wasn't going to start any more stories (I swear I did at some point), I've already started another. I don't know when it will be up, I'm still sorting a few things to do with that. Hopefully soon, though.**

**ETA on FP: Soonish (which basically means when I can be bothered to finish the half written chapter on my laptop).**

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Troy smiled softly as he stepped into his girlfriend's bedroom to see her curled up under the covers, still sleeping soundly. He sat down next to her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking lightly.

"Wake up sleeping beauty." He cooed, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple, chuckling when she reached up to try and push him away. "Mom wants to take you shopping."

"I'm sleeping." She complained, letting out a yawn before turning away from him. "Go away."

"As much as I love that you're sleeping." He smiled. "It's ten, and you have to get up." He laughed as she grumbled incoherently, swatting at him again. "Babe, come on. We promised my mom last night. You two are having some weird girly day, I'm going to the golf club with my dad, we're meeting at that restaurant for dinner."

"Later."

"Gabs, mom's waiting." He smiled, leaning down to her ear. "I know how you hate keeping people waiting."

She groaned, turning onto her back and opening her eyes, scowling up at him. "I think I like your shirt better than you."

"Did it help?"

She nodded, leaning up to kiss him lightly. "Thankyou."

"Just let me know when you need another one, okay?"

"Okay." She held her arms out, smiling when he took the hint and pulled her into a sitting position. "What time's your mom expecting us?"

He glanced at his watch. "About five minutes ago." He looked up, placing a hand against her cheek. "I was talking to your mom for a bit. I'll call while you're getting ready."

"You sure you're okay with being away from me for a whole day?"

He sighed dramatically. "No, but I guess I'll have to manage, no matter how much I want to grab you and run off so we can hide from them."

"That sounds like a plan." Gabriella smiled. "But I do need to go shopping." She shifted, getting out of bed. "Come on, let's move."

He chuckled, knowing better than to mention her refusal to do just that mere minutes ago.

**-MIR-**

"So things are definitely okay between the two of you now?"

Gabriella had been expecting the questioning. It didn't matter how many times she said it, Lucille always wanted to be sure. "Yeah, still better than ever."

"No Summer trouble?"

"She's... full on."

"She's been hanging around then?"

"She openly asks Troy if he wants to meet up with her right in front of me." She admitted, grimacing slightly. "Eventually he's going to run out of excuses."

"You don't have anything to worry about." Lucille decided. "He never looked at her the way he looks at you."

"I know." The brunette agreed. "It's just annoying. She doesn't know when to give up."

"She probably won't unless he makes it painfully obvious that he's not interested." Lucille frowned. "Sometimes I regret making him too nice for that. Sometimes it's necessary to tell people to back off."

"He did get a little sharp with her." Gabriella elaborated. "I think he realised she was getting to me a little. Honestly, I probably could have handled it, but I didn't have to."

"He likes to protect you?" Lucille watched as she nodded. "Jack was the same with me. Still is sometimes. It's either incredibly sweet or incredibly annoying, depending on what mood you're in."

"I tried telling him I could look after myself once." Gabriella laughed. "He looked at me like I had two heads. Like the fact that I even thought that he would ever let me do that is insane. It was actually..."

Lucille frowned as the teenager cut off, then turned to follow the girl's gaze over her shoulder, recognition coming almost immediately. "Can't say I'm surprised to see her here."

"She's everywhere." Gabriella sighed. "It's annoying." She paused, turning away as the girl spotted them and began to approach.

"Gabriella!" Summer exclaimed. "What a coincidence! What are you doing here?"

"Shopping."

"Me too!" Summer announced, as if there was any reason why they'd consider that she'd been there for something else. "Troy not with you?"

"No." Lucille spoke sharply. "He's not."

"We should go." Gabriella decided after a brief pause. "We're busy."

Summer nodded. "Nice seeing you again, Mrs. Bolton."

Lucille nodded, her eyes narrowed almost defensively. She turned towards the brunette as soon as Summer was out of earshot. "I wish I could say the same."

**-MIR-**

"Honey." Gabriella laughed at the sight of her boyfriend as she stepped outside of the ladies room in the restaurant. "You didn't have to come with me, you know. I could have made it from the table to here and back on my own."

"Mom told me Summer made an appearance today." He mentioned, the concern clear in his tone. "Are you okay?"

"Troy, she's your ex." Gabriella smiled. "Not an axe murderer. I can handle myself."

"I don't like the idea of her being near you."

"I know." She admitted. "But if Summer's going to be at school, you're going to have to get used to it."

He sighed, pulling her against his chest. "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Can't I just ask Taylor to scare her off?"

"Taylor's not scary."

"Have you MET Taylor?" He exclaimed. "She terrifies me."

"I'll let her know."

"You can't _tell_ her that." Troy explained. "I'd never hear the end of it."

"Does Chad know that you're scared of his girlfriend?"

"He's scared of her too."

"She'd love this." Gabriella smiled. "You know I have to tell her, right?"

"I'll have to punish you if you do."

"Threat or promise?"

He glared playfully at her in response. "Come on, we'd better get back to the table."

She followed him over to his parents, sliding back into her seat after arriving at the table.

"Everything okay?"

Gabriella nodded, smiling softly at her boyfriend. "Everything's good."

Lucille nodded. "So, who wants desert?"

"I think I'll pass." Gabriella sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "If I start I probably won't stop. We'd be here all night."

"In that case. "Troy decided. "We'll have brownies and ice cream." He grinned at his girlfriend briefly. "And you're not allowed to complain."

She scowled in response, but could tell how determined he was to stick to his words. "Fine."

"I just want to spend more time with you."

"Suck up." She picked up her phone as it interrupted them, holding up a finger to her boyfriend before smiling softly at his parents. "Mom?... Yeah, okay... Sure, I guess." She smirked somewhat triumphantly as she hung up. "Going to have to hold the brownies for now. Mom wants me home."

"Everything okay?"

"Honestly." Gabriella sighed. "I don't know. She sounded weird."

She stood up, watching as her boyfriend copied her action. "I'd better get you home then."

"It's not far, I can walk." She tried, despite knowing that he wouldn't consider that option.

She frowned as he looked over to his father. "See what I mean?"

Jack nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "Yeah, I see."

Troy nodded in return. "I shouldn't be long, I'll meet you at home."

He pulled Gabriella away without waiting for a response.

"What was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"The 'see what I mean' thing with your dad."

"Oh, that." Troy smiled. "That was about you. Dad didn't believe you're as much trouble as I said you are. He does now."

"Before you start picking on me." Gabriella started. "I'd like to remind you that we are going to my house. Where my mother is."

"Good point."

"I can always tell Taylor, too."

"Not funny."

**-MIR-**

Gabriella slowly walked up the path towards the front door of her house, tightly clutching onto her boyfriend's hand. "What if something's wrong?"

"Sooner you get in, sooner you find out."

She nodded, stepping forward again and up onto the porch. "She sounded REALLY weird. Can you come in?"

He nodded, waiting as she unlocked the door before following her into the house.

"MOM?"

Gabriella frowned at the lack of a response before heading off to the side towards the living room, Troy following closely behind her,

"Gabriella." Anna smiled at her daughter. "I believe you've met your Uncle Michael?"

She turned quickly, taking in the man behind her mother. The man she had just assumed was Dan. She'd been wrong. "You got away."

Michael smiled. "I got away."

"How?"

"Remember I used my real name to get into the club?" Gabriella nodded. "Came up on some computer in some office. Turns out they were still looking for me." He paused. "Your grandparents are in a lot of trouble." Gabriella's eyes widened momentarily.

"Your dad's parents, sweetie." Anna elaborated. "They're the ones that took, well, both of us, I guess. I don't really remember it."

Gabriella shrugged. "I've never met them."

Michael nodded. "That makes sense. I don't think your father told them that his wife was the little girl they stole."

"Did you know?"

Michael shook his head at his sister's question. "Not until I saw her." He gestured towards his niece. "She looks exactly like you." He smiled softly at the teenager. "That day in the hotel, the first time I saw you. I saw Anna in you, but I wasn't sure, not until your dad confirmed it."

"Aaron." Gabriella corrected. "That man is not my dad."

"Aaron." Michael nodded. "That's understandable." He looked up towards Troy. "Boyfriend?"

He nodded, stepping closer to Gabriella defensively, reminding her that although he had caught on to who this man was, he was still going to keep an eye on him until he was sure himself that she wasn't threatened.

"So what's going to happen to Aaron?"

"He ran." Anna frowned, stepping closer to her daughter. "But it doesn't matter, sweetie. They wouldn't do anything to him, he was a child when it happened. He can't hurt us anymore. We're together and he can't hurt us. That's all that matters."

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**Review? For the last time?**


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